Women Who Drink Two Beers a Week Have a Lower Risk of Heart Attack

Previous studies suggest that alcohol in moderate quantities can have a certain protective effect. Now researchers from the Sahlgrenska Academy at University of Gothenburg, Sweden, have revealed that women who drink beer at least twice per week, run a 30% lower risk of heart attack compared with women who never drink beer. Dominique Hange, researcher at Sahlgrenska Academy, said, "Our results have been checked against other risk factors for cardiovascular disease, which substantiates the findings. At the same time, we were unable to confirm that moderate wine consumption has the same effect, so our results also need to be confirmed through follow-up studies."

For the study, researchers followed 1,500 women over a period of almost 50 years. These women were asked about the frequency of their consumption of beer, wine or spirits and about various physical symptoms. The results revealed that over the 32-year follow-up period, 185 women had a heart attack, 162 suffered a stroke, 160 developed diabetes and 345 developed cancer.

The authors noted, "The study, however, shows a statistically significant connection between high consumption of spirits (defined as more frequent than once or twice per month) and an almost 50% higher risk of dying of cancer, compared with those who drink less frequently. But it found lower heart attack risk in women who drank beer in moderation."

Source-IANS