Even low levels of alcohol consumption are linked to elevated blood pressure, and stopping drinking reverses this effect. This is reported by The Scientist website, citing the results of a new study by Japanese doctors, published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, BTA reported.
The link between alcohol and cardiovascular health has been studied for centuries. For a long time, moderate consumption of some drinks - especially red wine - was considered good for the heart. Dr. Takahiro Suzuki's team from the International Hospital “St. Luke“ in Tokyo, however, casts doubt on this notion.
“Our study aimed to determine whether stopping alcohol consumption leads to improvements in blood pressure levels in regular drinkers and whether starting to drink has an effect in non-regular drinkers,“ explains Suzuki. “We focused on less-studied groups – women, light to moderate drinkers, and people who drink a variety of beverages – to better understand how even small amounts of alcohol affect blood pressure control, which is an important public health issue.“
The study included data from 58,943 adults collected during 359,717 annual medical checkups between 2012 and 2024. The researchers focused on two groups – regular drinkers who stopped drinking and abstainers who started drinking occasionally. Changes in systolic and diastolic blood pressure were tracked for one year, and a statistical model was developed that took into account differences in demographic and health characteristics, as well as lifestyle.
Blood pressure is measured in millimeters of mercury - mmHg. Normal values in medicine are considered to be 120-129 mmHg systolic and 80-84 mmHg diastolic blood pressure.
The results of the study show that blood pressure decreases in people who stopped drinking, while in those who started drinking - it increases. According to the team's calculations, each drink per day is associated with a change of about 1 mmHg: one drink less lowers pressure by 1 mmHg, and one more - by 1 mmHg. increases it by the same amount.
No differences were found between beer, wine or spirits drinkers, indicating that it is the amount of alcohol, not the type, that is important. There were also no gender differences.
The study challenges the notion that low levels of consumption do not significantly affect blood pressure. “In the past, it was thought that small amounts of alcohol were acceptable, but our results show that it is best not to drink at all. "Quitting alcohol, even in small amounts, can have real benefits for heart health in both women and men," says Dr. Suzuki.
Cardiologist Harlan Krumholz of Yale University School of Medicine, who was not involved in the study, supports this conclusion: "These results suggest that stopping alcohol, even in small amounts, can prevent or even help treat hypertension."