Excessive alcohol consumption has never been good for anyone, but people struggling with diabetes or hypertension need to be more careful about their alcohol intake. A recent study found out that even moderate or limited drinking may worsen the pre-existing conditions. The researchers claimed that drinking eight or more glasses of alcohol a week may raise the risk of high blood pressure (hypertension) in adults already suffering from Type 2 diabetes. Keeping a check on your drinks is thereby important.
"Heavy alcohol consumption has a well-established association with hypertension. However, doubt persists whether moderate alcohol consumption has a similar link. This relationship is not studied extensively in patients with diabetes mellitus. We aimed to describe the association of alcohol consumption with prevalent hypertension in participants in the ACCORD (Action to Control Cardiovascular Risk in Diabetes) trial," said Jonathan J. Mayl, lead author of the study.
The study was carried out on 10,200 participants with type 2 diabetes and multivariable logistic regression was used to explore the association between alcohol consumption and prevalent hypertension condition. Alcohol consumption was categorised as none, light (1-7 drinks/week), moderate (8-14 drinks/week), and heavy (15 or more drinks/week).
It was seen that moderate drinking (defined as eight or more alcoholic beverages a week) was associated with a 60% or higher increased risk of high blood pressure, blood sugar and cardiovascular issues. Light alcohol consumption was not associated with elevated blood pressure or any stage of hypertension.
The research findings were published in the Journal of the American Heart Association, an open access journal of the American Heart Association.
"Despite prior research, our findings show moderate alcohol consumption is associated with hypertension in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and elevated cardiovascular risk. We also note a dose-risk relationship with the amount of alcohol consumed and the degree of hypertension," added Jonathan J. Mayl.