Drinking a large glass of wine every night can increase a woman’s risk of fatal heart disease by 45 percent, a new study suggests.
What’s more, women who drink excessively (drink at least three glasses of wine a day for three months) are more than 68 percent more likely to develop heart disease than those who drink alcohol a few times a week.
The researchers found that the risk of consuming alcohol regularly is notably higher in women than in men.
Men who drink the equivalent of a glass of wine every night have a 33 percent increased risk of heart disease; 12 percent less than women, according to research from The Permanente Medical Group.
Scientists suggest that the gender difference may be due to hormonal differences between the sexes that affect how the body processes alcohol.
In the new study, the average age of women at significantly increased risk of heart disease was 45, suggesting that the harms of alcohol may begin at a younger age than previously thought.
The findings come amid rising alcohol consumption among young and middle-aged American women.
The number of Between 30 and 44 American women who admit to binge drinking doubled from 21 percent to 42 percent between 2006 and 2018, according to a study of more than 200,000 American adults. conducted by Columbia University.
Since 2016, the number of women dying from excessive alcohol consumption has increased by 35 percent, representing 58,701 annual deaths in the United States, according to CDC data.
Some experts have attributed much of this pattern to the social media trend that sees middle-aged women sharing their excess alcohol with their thousands of followers and making jokes about it.
It’s a phenomenon that has been called “wine moms,” in which mothers consume alcohol to cope with the stress of parenthood and joke about it on social media.
Since 2016, the number of women dying from excessive alcohol consumption has increased 35 percent, accounting for 58,701 deaths annually in the U.S., according to CDC data.
“Women feel they are protected from heart disease until they are older, but this study shows that even when you are young or middle-aged, if you are a heavy alcohol user or drink excessively, you are at risk for coronary heart disease. “. ‘ said Dr. Jamal Rana, a cardiologist at The Permanente Medical Group, who led the study.
The study included 189,000 women and 243,000 men between the ages of 18 and 65, with an average age of 44 years.
Participants were classified into three categories based on the number of alcoholic drinks they reported consuming per week, and their health was tracked for four years.
Light drinkers had one to two drinks per week, moderate drinkers had three to seven drinks, and heavy drinkers had eight or more drinks per week.
The researchers also looked at whether participants should be classified as binge drinkers: If they reported having more than three drinks in one day over a three-month period, they were classified as binge drinkers.
The researchers took into account other elements that could have influenced the health outcomes, such as age, physical activity, smoking and other known cardiovascular risk factors.
Since 2016, the number of women dying from excessive alcohol consumption has increased 35 percent, accounting for 58,701 deaths annually in the U.S., according to CDC data.
By the end of the four-year study, more than 3,100 people had developed cardiovascular disease.
There were no significant differences between the groups with low and moderate alcohol consumption habits.
However, heavy drinkers, who had at least eight standard-sized drinks per week, showed a strikingly 45 percent higher risk, compared to the low group.
Researchers say the most surprising findings are the difference between men and women, and that the potential harm was seen in young people.
The average age of heart attacks in women is 70 years. The current study cohort shows signs of heart disease at a much younger age.
‘I did not expect these results among women in this younger age group because we typically see a higher risk of heart disease among older women. “It was definitely surprising,” said Dr. Rana.
On average, women have smaller body masses and more body fat, which does not absorb alcohol well, compared to men.
This means that when they drink alcohol, it is less diluted and enters the bloodstream faster and at higher levels.
The risk of heart disease is thought to lie in alcohol’s impact on blood pressure, metabolism and body weight, all of which are factors that can contribute to heart disease, the study authors wrote.
“I think a lot more awareness is needed and alcohol should be part of routine health screenings in the future,” Dr. Rana said.