Wine and mortality

[Guest guest]

Amazing that the greatest benefit was achieved with only 1.5 ounces of

wine per day.

" Participants who drank on average half a glass, or 1.5 ounces, of

wine per day, over a long period, had a 40 percent lower rate of

all-cause death and a 48 percent lower incidence of cardiovascular

death, compared to the non-wine drinkers.

Researchers said life expectancy was 3.8 years higher in those men who

drank wine compared to those who did not drink alcoholic beverages.

Life expectancy of wine users was more than two years longer than

users of other alcoholic beverages. Men with a long-term alcohol

intake less than or equal to 20 grams per day had a 1.6-year-higher

life expectancy, compared to those who consumed no alcohol. "

Full article from the American Heart Association:

Meeting Report

02/28/2007

Light wine intake associated with longer life expectancy in men

Abstract P57

ORLAND, Fla., Feb. 28 — Drinking a little alcohol every day,

especially wine, may be associated with an increase in life

expectancy. That's the conclusion of Dutch researchers who reported

the findings of their study today at the American Heart Association's

47th Annual Conference on Cardiovascular Disease Epidemiology and

Prevention.

The researchers found that a light intake of alcohol (on average less

than one glass per day) was associated with a lower rate of

cardiovascular death and death from all causes. When compared to

spirits and beer, consumption of small amounts of wine, about a half a

glass a day, was associated with the lowest levels of all-cause and

cardiovascular deaths.

" Our study showed that long-term, light alcohol intake among

middle-aged men was associated not only with lower cardiovascular and

all-cause death risk, but also with longer life expectancy at age 50, "

said ette T. Streppel, lead author of the study and a Ph.D.

student in the Division of Human Nutrition at Wageningen University

and National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) in

Bilthoven, The Netherlands. " Furthermore, long-term light wine

consumption is associated with a further protective effect when

compared to that of light-to-moderate alcohol intake of other types. "

Previous studies have shown that light to moderate alcohol intake is

associated with a lower risk of cardiovascular death. However, it

remained unclear whether a specific beverage was associated with more

benefit and whether the use of long-term alcohol consumption was

associated with increased life expectancy. Studies such as this cannot

definitively show whether the agent being studied has a causal effect

on health.

The Netherlands study — called the Zutphen Study — involved a cohort

of 1,373 men born between 1900 and 1920 who were surveyed in detail

about alcohol consumption seven times over 40 years. The

participants, all from Zutphen, an industrial town in the eastern part

of the Netherlands, were followed until death or until the final

survey taken among survivors in mid-2000. The surveys included

drinking habits, dietary habits, body mass index, smoking habits and

the prevalence of heart attack, stroke, diabetes and cancer. The

statistics on alcohol consumption were adjusted to account for other

risk factors.

The researchers found that long-term, light alcohol intake of less

than or equal to 20 grams per day (1 glass of alcoholic beverage

contains 10 grams of alcohol, 1 ounce = ~30 mL of alcoholic beverage)

compared to no alcohol intake was associated with a 36 percent lower

relative risk of all-cause death and a 34 lower relative risk of

cardiovascular death. The average long-term daily intake of the men

throughout the 40-year study was six grams based on any alcohol intake

of more than zero and up to 20 grams. The long-term average intake

of six grams of alcohol is equal to one four-ounce beer, one two-ounce

glass of wine or one one-ounce glass of spirits, daily.

When the researchers looked independently at wine consumption, the

associated risk reduction was greater. Participants who drank on

average half a glass, or 1.5 ounces, of wine per day, over a long

period, had a 40 percent lower rate of all-cause death and a 48

percent lower incidence of cardiovascular death, compared to the

non-wine drinkers.

Researchers said life expectancy was 3.8 years higher in those men who

drank wine compared to those who did not drink alcoholic beverages.

Life expectancy of wine users was more than two years longer than

users of other alcoholic beverages. Men with a long-term alcohol

intake less than or equal to 20 grams per day had a 1.6-year-higher

life expectancy, compared to those who consumed no alcohol.

Most of the previous studies assessed alcohol intake at baseline;

however, in this study researchers collected detailed information

seven times over 40 years.

" Consumption patterns usually change during life, " Streppel said.

" This enabled us to study the effects of long-term alcohol intake on

mortality. "

Researchers found that the number of alcohol users nearly doubled from

45 percent in 1960 to 85 percent in the 2000 survey. Average

alcohol consumption rose and then fell at various points during the

study. Users' consumption was eight grams a day in 1960, then

survivors' consumption was 18 grams a day in 1985, dropping to 13

grams per day in 2000. The percentage of wine users increased during

follow-up from 2 percent in 1960 to more than 40 percent among the

survivors in 2000.

" One can speculate that a protective effect of light alcohol intake

could be due to an increase in high-density lipoprotein (HDL)

cholesterol, or to a reduction in blood clotting, due to an inhibition

of platelet aggregation, " Streppel said.

Furthermore, red wine consumption may have an additional health

benefit because the polyphenolic compounds contained in wine have been

seen in animal to interfere with the formation, progression and

rupture of atherosclerotic plaques — the build-up of fatty tissue in

the arteries that can result in stroke or heart attack.

" Those people who already consume alcoholic beverages should do so

lightly (1 to 2 glasses per day) and preferably drink wine, " Streppel

said. " The cardio-protective effects of alcohol and wine only held

up for light alcohol consumption in middle-aged men. Heavy alcohol

consumption may cause accidents and diseases such as cancer and

cirrhosis of the liver, even though this was not observed in our

study. Since alcohol consumption can be addictive, starting to drink

alcohol because of its positive health benefits is not advised. "

How alcohol or wine might affect cardiovascular risk merits further

research, but right now the American Heart Association does not

recommend beginning to drink wine or any other form of alcohol to gain

these potential benefits. The association does recommend that to

reduce your risk you should talk to your doctor about lowering your

cholesterol and blood pressure, controlling your weight, getting

enough physical activity and following a healthy diet and quit

smoking, if you smoke. There is no scientific proof that drinking

wine or any other alcoholic beverage can replace these conventional

measures.

The study was partly funded by a grant from the former Inspectorate

for Health and Protection and Veterinary Public Health, which is

presently integrated in the Food and Consumer Product Safety

Authority, The Netherlands and partly by the National Institute for

Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), The Netherlands.

Co authors are Marga C. Ocke, Ph.D.; Hendriek C. Boshuizen, Ph.D.;

Frans J. Kok, Ph.D.; and Daan Kromhout, Ph.D.

Statements and conclusions of abstract authors presented at American

Heart Association/American Stroke Association scientific meetings are

solely those of the abstract authors and do not necessarily reflect

association policy or position. The associations make no

representation or warranty as to their accuracy or reliability.

http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=3045758