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This Menedlian randomisation meta-analysis of 56 studies investigated the association of alcohol consumption with cardiovascular health.
Researchers used a variant of the alcohol dehydrogenase 1B gene (ADH1B) as an indicator of lower alcohol consumption, as it has been found that carriers of this variant experience unpleasant symptoms that lead to lower levels of alcohol consumption in the long term.
Individuals who were genetically predisposed to consume lower amounts of alcohol were found to have a more favourable cardiovascular profile.
This challenges previous reports from studies that light-to-moderate amounts of alcohol may have a protective effect on cardiovascular health.
The results from this analysis strongly suggest that reducing alcohol consumption is beneficial for cardiovascular health.
To access the free full text of this paper click on the title of publication 5 - 2017.