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Over 70? Drink up!
25/07/2006 10:26 - (SA)
Chicago - A study of men and women age
70 to 79 found that those who downed one to seven alcoholic
drinks a week had a significantly lower risk of heart problems
or death than those who didn't imbibe, researchers said on
Monday.
Why the apparent protective effect exists is not clear, the
report from the US Institute on Aging and the University of
Florida said, but it does not appear to be related to
speculation that alcohol consumption has an anti-inflammatory
effect.
The study involved 2 487 men and women, without heart
disease and between the ages of 70 and 79, who were recruited
into a study in 1997 and 1998. They were followed for five
years with blood tests.
Drinking 'good for you'
The study found that "light to moderate alcohol consumption
is associated with a 26% reduced risk of all-cause
mortality and almost 30% reduced risk of cardiac events"
such as heart attacks, compared to non-drinkers, the report
said.
Light to moderate consumption was defined as one to seven
drinks a week, with a "drink" being either one can of beer, a
glass of wine or a mixed drink with one shot of liquor.
"Our findings provide evidence of a cardioprotective effect
and survival benefit of light to moderate alcohol consumption
among older people," said the study published in the Archives
of Internal Medicine.
It added that the anti-inflammatory effect of consumption
at those levels "does not appear to explain these beneficial
effects" which "may vary as a function of sex, race and
background cardiovascular risk."
Recommendations on alcohol consumption should be based "on
a careful evaluation of an individual's risks and benefits in
the context of adequate treatment and control of established
cardiovascular risk factors," it concluded.
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