Alcohol and cardiovascular diseases—consumption pattern and dose

Alcohol and cardiovascular diseases—consumption pattern and dose
An open access review published in the Journal of Cardiovascular Development and Disease looks at the results of clinical and observational studies on what dose and patterns of alcohol consumption are most harmful to health and emphasise that the types of alcohol are unequal in terms of their cardiovascular effects.
The authors say that the ‘dose and way of drinking alcohol play a crucial role in assessing whether this drink allows people to maintain health or whether it is a great health and social threat. The beneficial effects of low and moderate doses of alcohol on the occurrence of cardiovascular diseases have been shown in many population studies and meta-analyses in which the effect of U-shaped or J-shaped curves relating alcohol intake to cardiovascular mortality was observed, especially in ischemic heart disease. However, due to the fact that alcohol consumption is associated with many health hazards, it is not recommended to consume it as a preventive action of cardiovascular diseases. Moreover, recent studies suggest that association of low-to-moderate alcohol consumption with the reduction in cardiovascular risk is a result of lifestyle changes and that any reduction in alcohol consumption is infact beneficial in terms of general health’.
Source: Chudzińska M, Wołowiec Ł, Banach J, Rogowicz D, Grześk G. Alcohol and Cardiovascular Diseases—Do the Consumption Pattern and Dose Make the Difference? Journal of Cardiovascular Development and Disease. 2022; 9(10):317. doi.org/10.3390/jcdd9100317