Increase in Drinking Gatherings After Social Distancing Eased... "Higher Alcohol Consumption Raises Risk of Stroke"

Samsung Seoul Hospital and Soongsil University Joint Research Team Analyze National Health Screening
Drinking One Glass of Beer and Increasing Alcohol Tolerance Raises Risk by Up to 28%

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-joo] As gatherings and dinners have increased following the easing of social distancing, alcohol consumption has also risen, and a report has emerged indicating that the risk of cerebral infarction increases with higher alcohol intake.

A research team led by Professors Shin Dong-wook (co-corresponding author) and Jeong Soo-min (first author) from the Department of Family Medicine at Samsung Medical Center, in collaboration with Professor Han Kyung-do (co-corresponding author) from the Department of Statistics at Soongsil University, analyzed data from the National Health Insurance Service and revealed these findings on the 8th. This study was published in the latest issue of "STROKE," the leading international journal in the field of stroke.

The team analyzed the risk of cerebral infarction occurrence according to changes in alcohol consumption among 4.5 million people aged 40 and above who participated in the national health screening twice, in 2009 and 2011. Participants were categorized based on daily alcohol intake into non-drinkers, low-risk drinkers (less than 15g), moderate-risk drinkers (15?30g), and high-risk drinkers (30g or more). After adjusting for other factors, the impact of changes in alcohol consumption on cerebral infarction incidence was compared. An alcohol intake of 15g generally corresponds to one can (375ml) of beer or one and a half glasses of soju, based on commonly sold products.

Using those with no change in alcohol consumption over two years as the baseline, the increase in cerebral infarction risk was most pronounced among low-risk drinkers who increased their alcohol intake. Compared to maintaining low-risk drinking, moving to moderate-risk drinking raised the risk by 11%, and moving to high-risk drinking increased the risk by 28%.

For individuals who previously did not drink, becoming low-risk drinkers actually lowered their stroke risk by about 3%. However, as alcohol consumption increased, this benefit was offset, and upon reaching high-risk drinking, the risk of cerebral infarction increased by 5% compared to non-drinkers. Conversely, reducing alcohol intake among high-risk drinkers lowered stroke risk. Additional analysis of over 3.5 million people with screening data up to 2013 showed that reducing from high-risk to low-risk drinking decreased cerebral infarction risk by 18%.

However, the study found that completely quitting alcohol increased the risk of cerebral infarction by 15?28% across all drinking groups regardless of previous consumption levels. The research team speculated this was because individuals who stopped drinking had existing health problems that prevented alcohol consumption. Also, maintaining low-risk drinking was associated with a 12% lower risk of cerebral infarction compared to non-drinkers, but the team emphasized that alcohol consumption cannot be recommended as a preventive measure against cerebral infarction due to potential other health issues.

Professor Jeong Soo-min explained, “Regardless of the type of alcohol, drinking more than three drinks a day can increase the risk of cerebral infarction,” adding, “This study reminds us once again that to reduce stroke risk, it is necessary to limit alcohol intake to one to two drinks per day.” Professor Shin Dong-wook stated, “While small amounts of alcohol may appear to help reduce cerebral infarction risk, they can cause other health problems,” and emphasized, “Since individual alcohol metabolism varies, starting to drink small amounts for stroke prevention is not recommended for those who previously did not drink.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.