Young and middle-aged women who regularly drink alcohol may face a higher risk of developing coronary heart disease later in life, according to new data to be presented at ACC.24, the upcoming annual meeting of the American College of Cardiology.
The study’s authors tracked data from more than 430,000 patients who participated in the Kaiser Permanente Northern California “Alcohol as a Vital Sign” screening initiative from 2014 to 2015. The average age was 44 years old, and none of the had heart disease at the start of the study. Roughly 44% of patients were women.
Participants were grouped based on how much alcohol they reported drinking in a given week. Low alcohol intake was defined as two drinks per week for both men and women. Moderate alcohol intake was defined as 14 drinks per week for men and three to seven for women. High alcohol intake, meanwhile, was defined as 15 or more drinks per week for men and eight or more for women. A separate analysis examined the topic of binge drinking, which was defined as consuming more than four drinks in a single day for men and more than three for women.
Anyone who said they do not drink alcohol, on the other hand, was not included in this analysis.
Overall, after making adjustments for age and a variety of known cardiovascular risk factors, the authors found that the risk of coronary heart disease increased as participants consumed more alcohol. Among women with no history of binge drinking, for example, high alcohol intake was linked to a 45% higher risk of heart disease than moderate alcohol intake. Women in the moderate alcohol intake group had a 22% higher risk of heart disease than women in the low alcohol intake group. Also, women with a history of binge drinking were 68% more likely to develop heart disease than women in the moderate alcohol intake group.
In addition, men in the high alcohol intake group were 22% more likely to develop heart disease than men in the moderate alcohol intake group.
“When it comes to binge drinking, both men and women with excess alcohol consumption had a higher risk of heart disease,” lead author Jamal Rana, MD, PhD, a cardiologist with The Permanente Medical Group, said in a statement. “For women, we find consistently higher risk even without binge drinking. I wasn’t expecting these results among women in this lower age group, because we usually see increased risk for heart disease among older women. It was definitely surprising.”
Rana noted that women often think they’re “protected against heart disease until they’re older.” His team’s analysis, he said, shows that this is not the case.
“When it comes to heart disease, the number one thing that comes to mind is smoking, and we do not think about alcohol as one of the vital signs,” Rana added. “I think a lot more awareness is needed, and alcohol should be part of routine health assessments moving forward.”
ACC.24 is scheduled to run April 6-8, 2024, in Atlanta. Rana presents his full study Saturday, April 6.
Michael has more than 16 years of experience as a professional writer and editor. He has written at length about cardiology, radiology, artificial intelligence and other key healthcare topics.