WASHINGTON – Much has been written about the health benefits of a glass of red wine. But this is one case where too much of a good thing is not necessarily better.
Researchers are finding that while alcohol in moderation can slightly lower the chances of stroke, heavy drinking in middle age may actually significantly increase the risk of stroke.
Previous studies have looked at the link between alcohol consumption and stroke, but this new study is the first to focus on how risk factors shift with age.
The results — published in the American Heart Association journal “Stroke” — provide a cautionary tale for midlife adults. For them, heavy drinking is a greater risk factor for stroke than hypertension and diabetes.
“This is a very interesting study and a very sophisticated one,” says Dr. Richard Benson, associate director of the comprehensive stroke program at MedStar Washington Hospital Center.
The researchers crunched data on 11,644 Swedish identical twins collected between 1967 and 2010. They found that those who were heavy drinkers had about a 34 percent higher risk of stroke than their light-drinking siblings.
“That seemed to be a very high risk factor in mid-life,” says Benson
He says it is one more piece of evidence that the lifestyle choices we make when we are young can affect our health for years to come. And heavy alcohol consumption, much like smoking, is a risk factor for stroke that can be modified.
Benson says the bottom line is strokes are preventable and behavioral risk factors are crucial.
The American Heart Association says adults should limit themselves to an average of two drinks a day for men and just one for women. The AHA defines a drink as one 12-ounce beer, four ounces of wine, 1.5 ounces of 80-proof spirits, or 1 ounce of 100-proof spirits.
Follow @WTOP on Twitter and on Facebook.
