(Health): Just a Single Alcoholic Drink a Day May Raise Blood Pressure - Study finds

 

Every additional alcoholic beverage may increase blood pressure over the years, finds a new analysis in the journal Hypertension.

Alcohol’s Impact on Blood Pressure Readings: Even in adults without hypertension, blood pressure readings may climb more steeply over the years as the number of daily alcoholic drinks increases. This is according to an analysis of seven international research studies published on July 31 in Hypertension, an American Heart Association journal.

With the statistical power of seven international research studies, this analysis confirms for the first time there was a continuous increase in blood pressure measures in both participants with low and high alcohol intake. Even low levels of alcohol consumption were associated with detectable increases in blood pressure levels that may lead to a higher risk of cardiovascular events.

No Beneficial Effects from Low-Level Alcohol Consumption

“We found no beneficial effects in adults who drank a low level of alcohol compared to those who did not drink alcohol,” said senior study author Marco Vinceti, M.D., Ph.D., a professor of epidemiology and public health in the Medical School of the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia University in Italy and an adjunct professor in the department of epidemiology at Boston University’s School of Public Health. “We were somewhat surprised to see that consuming an already-low level of alcohol was also linked to higher blood pressure changes over time compared to no consumption – although far less than the blood pressure increase seen in heavy drinkers.”

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