Filenews 11 December 2021
Moderate alcohol consumption (defined as no more than one alcoholic drink per day for women and two for men) is associated with a lower risk of death from cardiovascular disease compared to people who do not drink at all or drink too much alcohol.
These, according to what is mentioned in the iatropedia.gr, are the conclusions of a study presented at the 70th Annual Scientific Conference of the American College of Cardiology.
It is also the first study to show that drinking moderate amounts of alcohol can protect the heart in part by reducing stress-related brain signals.
The right amount of alcohol reduces stress in the brain and thus problems in the heart
"We found that activity related to stress in the brain was higher in non-drinkers compared to people who drank moderate amounts of alcohol. Also, people who drank a lot of alcohol (more than 14 drinks a week) had the highest level of stress-related brain activity," said Dr. Kenechukwu Mezue, from Massachusetts General Hospital and lead author of the study.
"The central idea is that moderate amounts of alcohol (1 drink/day for women and 2 drinks/day for men) can have effects on the brain that can help you relax, reduce stress levels and, perhaps through these mechanisms, reduce the incidence of cardiovascular disease," he added.
Dr. Mezue was quick to warn that these findings should not encourage alcohol consumption.
But he said they could open up horizons in new treatments and methods of minimizing stress signals in the brain.
"The current study suggests that moderate alcohol intake beneficially affects the brain-heart connection. However, alcohol has many significant side effects, including an increased risk of cancer, liver damage and dependence," said Dr. Mezue.
How research was done on the positive effect of alcohol on the heart
In a related study by the same research team, exercise was found to have a similar effect on brain activity, as well as on the incidence of cardiovascular diseases and events.
The authors reported that exercise is associated with decreased brain activity, associated with stress.
Although the link between stress and heart disease is widely accepted, the authors said that relatively little research has been done on how modifying stress can help protect the heart.
The data were obtained from a survey by Mass General Brigham Biobank on 53,064 stakeholders, of which 59.9% were women and the average age was 57.2 years.
Alcohol consumption was based on self-reports of the participants and was classified as:
low (<1 drink/week)
moderate (1-14 drinks/week)
high (> 14 drinks/week)
Of the participants, 752 underwent PET imaging, which is often used as part of cancer screening, but can also show areas in the brain that have increased activity.
The scans allowed the researchers to objectively measure activity in areas of the brain known to be associated with stress.
They evaluated the brain activity associated with anxiety by measuring the activity of the amygdala (the part of the brain associated with fear and anxiety) and dividing it by activity in the frontal cortex (the part of the brain involved in executive functions).
They then targeted patients based on the extent of brain stress activity.
Of the 53,064 participants, 7,905 (15%) experienced a significant adverse cardiovascular event:
17% in the low alcohol group and
13% in the moderate alcohol intake group
Also, people who reported moderate alcohol consumption were found to have a 20% lower chance of having a significant heart event compared to low alcohol intake, while they had lower brain activity associated with stress.
"Previous studies from our team and others have shown a strong correlation between increased amygdala activity and the higher risk of severe adverse cardiovascular effects, such as heart attack, stroke or death. In the current study, analyses have shown that the relationship between moderate alcohol consumption and a reduced risk of cardiovascular events depends significantly on whether the activity of the amygdala decreases," said Dr. Mezue.
Limitations of the investigation
The study is limited due to the self-reference of alcohol consumption by participants.
The data also comes from a single centre, and each participant in the imaging sub-study received only one brain scan.
Further study is needed to show that the observed decreases in brain activity are the direct result of moderate alcohol consumption through repeated brain scans and more detailed alcohol consumption information over time.
