Even moderate alcohol intake can raise blood pressure

Previous research has supported the presence of a J-curve regarding the relationship between cardiovascular risk and alcohol intake—light to moderate consumption may have a protective effect, but excessive drinking is associated with progressively higher risk.

But when it comes to developing high blood pressure, any amount of alcohol increases risk, lead author Nathalia Miguel Teixeira Santana and colleagues reported in PLOS One.

The researchers studied 7,655 volunteers across three regions in Brazil. Their average age was 50 and half (50.1 percent) were men.

Each participant completed a questionnaire and was placed into one of three categories based on alcohol consumption: abstainers, moderate drinkers and excessive drinkers. Excessive alcohol use was defined as ethanol consumption of at least 210 grams per week for men and 140 grams per week for women. Moderate use encompassed any intake below those thresholds.

Santana et al. then examined the prevalence of hypertension in those groups using low-end cutoffs of 140 millimeters of mercury for systolic blood pressure (SBP) and 90 mm Hg for diastolic blood pressure (DBP).

Compared to abstainers, men who drank moderately showed a 69 percent increased risk of hypertension, while those who drank excessively had 2.7 times the risk. Among women, only excessive drinkers were at a significantly increased risk—a 2.86-fold spike. Individuals who drank most often with meals saw risks drop across the board but remained at higher risk than abstainers.

In addition, binge drinkers who consumed five or more drinks within two hours multiple times per month were at a 70 percent increased risk of high blood pressure.

“Excessive drinkers, habitual or binge, presented higher odds of high BP when compared to abstainers,” the authors wrote. “The reduction of excessive alcohol consumption should be encouraged as well as other modifiable behavior factors in the general population and especially in individuals at higher risk for hypertension development.”

The authors said SBP was more responsive to alcohol intake, which is important “because the SBP exerts higher influence on cardiovascular risk than DBP.”

However, Santana and colleagues couldn’t assess potential biological mechanisms that may increase BP levels in people more sensitive to alcohol consumption.