Moderate alcohol consumption can act as a 'bloo...( vided by a total of 1037 participants ...),Health

"We found that among both men and women, an intake of three to six drinks per week or more was linked to lower levels of stickiness measured by aggregability," said Mukamal. "Among the men, we also found that alcohol intake was linked to lower levels of platelet activation. Together, these findings identify moderate drinking as a potential blood thinner." Mukamal added that the minor differences found between the men and women were more likely due to statistical issues than to any clear gender differences.

"Our findings add to a large body of evidence showing that moderate drinking has effects on blood coagulation, which may have both good and bad effects, but now identify a new avenue by which this effect may occur," said Mukamal. "By themselves, these findings have more importance for understanding risk factors for vascular disease than any clinical relevance, and should not be used by people as any reason to begin drinking."

The next step for Mukamal and his colleagues is to evaluate these findings in other populations. "Heart attacks far outnumber bleeding-type strokes in the United States," he said, "but in some countries such as Japan, they have much higher rates of bleeding strokes and lower rates of heart attacks than we do, which is perhaps related to dietary differences."

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13-Oct-2005