MedWire News: People who start to drink alcohol in moderation when they reach middle-age can reduce their risk of heart disease, suggest the results of a study.

"Studies suggest that moderate alcohol intake can reduce the risk of heart disease and early death," explain lead investigator Dr Dana King, from the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, USA and colleagues. Yet to counter the potential ill effects of drinking (eg, liver disease, cancer, motor vehicle crashes), the American Heart Association does not recommend that non-drinkers start drinking, she says.

To investigate whether adopting moderate alcohol consumption in later life results in a subsequent lower cardiovascular risk, Dr King and team studied 7697 individuals aged 45 to 64 years.. The participants were all non-drinkers at the start of the study start and none had a prior history of heart disease.

Within the first 6 years of the study, 6% of individuals began moderate alcohol consumption (ie, two drinks or fewer daily for men, one drink or less for women). After 4 more years of follow-up, individuals who started drinking moderate amounts of alcohol had a 38% lower risk of developing heart disease than non-drinkers. The findings also showed that new drinkers who consumed only wine in moderate amounts also had a significant decline in heart disease-related events.

"There is a substantial benefit from adopting moderate alcohol drinking in middle age," write the researchers in the American Journal of Medicine.

They conclude that although caution is recommended, moderate drinking reduces the risk of heart disease without increasing the risk of death, adding that for "carefully selected individuals", a heart-healthy diet may include limited alcohol consumption, even among prior non-drinkers.

Free abstract