Drinking without food may set you up for high bloo...( during their lifetime or in any one yea...),Health

Current drinkers were divided into categories depending on how often they drank: less than weekly, weekly non-daily; weekend only; or weekly daily.

Three blood-pressure readings were taken on each participant by trained personnel during the interview. The mean of the second and third reading then were used for the study. Hypertension was defined by systolic blood pressure of 140 mm Hg or greater or diastolic blood pressure of 90 mm Hg or greater, or by the fact that an individual was taking medication for high blood pressure.

Results confirmed findings of a previous study conducted in Italy by some of the same investigators and also showed for the first time that even light to moderate alcohol intake outside of meals puts drinkers at risk for hypertension.

"This is a novel finding with potentially important clinical implications," said Stranges. "It points out that drinking without food may counteract any benefit to the cardiovascular system associated with moderate alcohol consumption."

Those drinking mostly outside of mealtimes reported a significant increase in risk of hypertension compared with either lifetime abstainers or those drinking mostly with food.

Not surprisingly, results confirmed that a high level of alcohol consumption -- defined as more than two drinks per day -- is associated with an increased risk of high blood pressure. "In fact," said Stranges, "the average volume of alcohol consumed during the past 30 days played a much more important role in the relationship between drinking and high blood pressure than how often a person drank."

There was no difference in risk based on the type of alcohol consumed, or the gender of drinkers.

"These findings add new and important information
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Contact: Lois Baker
ljbaker@buffalo.edu
716-645-5000 x1417
University at Buffalo
16-Dec-2004