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Drinking affects blood pressure
04/03/2008 10:27 - (SA)
Michael Kahn
London - Drinking alcohol, even
moderate amounts, may boost blood pressure more than previously
thought, British researchers said on Tuesday.
People with a genetic mutation that makes it difficult to
consume alcohol had significantly lower blood pressure than
regular or heavy drinkers, the researchers found.
People without the mutation who had about three drinks per day
had "strikingly" higher blood pressure than people with the
genetic change who tended to drink only small amounts or
nothing at all.
"This study shows that alcohol intake may increase blood
pressure to a much greater extent, even among moderate
drinkers, than previously thought," Sarah Lewis, a researcher
at the University of Bristol's Department of Social Medicine,
and colleagues wrote in their report published in the Public
Library of Science journal PLoS Medicine.
Double the risk
The researchers said there was more than a two-fold risk
for high blood pressure among drinkers and a 70%
increased risk for "quite modest" drinkers compared to people
with the genetic mutation.
High blood pressure, which affects more than a billion
adults worldwide, can lead to stroke, heart failure, heart
attack and kidney failure.
Previous studies have linked heavy drinking with high blood
pressure while others have suggested that moderate alcohol
intake provides health benefits such as lower cholesterol.
The genetic mutation is common in some Asian populations
and discourages drinking because alcohol triggers facial
flushing, nausea, drowsiness, headache and other unpleasant
symptoms.
Comparing people with the mutation and volunteers without
the genetic variation helped the researchers better gauge
long-term effects of drinking, they said.
"Reporting of alcohol (in other studies) is likely to be
subject to considerable error, and this error may be
differential - for example, people who have been advised to
reduce alcohol intake for medical reasons may under-report
alcohol intake," the researchers wrote.
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