A new study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology reveals that light to moderate alcohol consumption may reduce the brain’s stress activity and lower the risk of heart disease. For the first time, the research proves that consuming 1 drink per day for women and 1 to 2 drinks per day for men is linked to long-term reductions in stress signaling in the brain. The reduction in cardiovascular events seen in light to moderate drinkers could be due to this impact on the brain’s stress systems, according to researchers including those from the Massachusetts General Hospital in the US.
Dr Ahmed Tawakol, a cardiologist and senior author of the study, said, “We are not advocating the use of alcohol to reduce the risk of heart attacks or strokes because of other concerning effects of alcohol on health. We wanted to understand how light to moderate drinking reduces cardiovascular disease, as demonstrated by multiple other studies.”
The data from over 50,000 individuals enrolled in the Mass General Brigham Biobank was assessed in this study. The relationship between light/moderate alcohol consumption and major adverse cardiovascular events was evaluated, and it was found that light/moderate alcohol consumption is linked to a substantial reduction in the risk of cardiovascular disease events.
In a subset of 754 individuals who had undergone previous PET/CT brain scans, researchers assessed the effect of light/moderate alcohol consumption on resting stress-related brain activity. Individuals who were light to moderate drinkers showed signs of reduced stress signaling in the amygdala brain region associated with stress responses compared to those who abstained from alcohol or drank less.
While light/moderate alcohol consumption is linked to a lower risk of heart disease, it is also important to note that any amount of alcohol increases the risk of cancer and high amounts increase the risk of heart attack while decreasing overall brain activity. Therefore, researchers hope to find interventions that reduce the brain’s stress activity without the adverse effects of alcohol.
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