Increased risk of dementia
A Finnish cohort study has found that binge drinking in midlife is associated with an increased risk of dementia. The researchers define binge drinking as exceeding the amount of 5 bottles of beer or a bottle of wine on 1 occasion at least monthly.
Jarvenpaa et al (2005) Epidemiology 16(6):766-771
Abstract here.
Very small coronary protective effect
Researchers from New Zealand claim in the Lancet that the apparent protective effect of alcohol may be largely due to confused research. Any benefit from light to moderate drinking is probably small and unlikely to outweigh the harm to health caused by alcohol. They say that if anything, the evidence of heart protection is more convincing for heavy drinkers. Daily Mail article here.
Jackson et al (2005) Alcohol and ischaemic heart disease: probably no free lunch The Lancet, 366:1911-1912
Alcohol saves more people than it kills
Meanwhile, Professor Eric Single claimed at an AERC conference last week that
Basically alcohol reduces heart disease and strokes because it thins the blood. This was first discovered not by alcohol experts but by heart specialists who started having to take alcohol consumption into account in their studies. In Australia, New Zealand and Canada we have found there were more lives saved from moderate drinking than were lost through excess drinking.
Details here
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