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Staying active
and drinking moderately is the key to a long
life
People who drink
moderate amounts of alcohol and are
physically active have a lower risk of death
from heart disease and other causes than
people who don’t drink at all, according to
new research.
People who neither
drink alcohol nor exercise have a 30-49 per
cent higher risk of heart disease than those
who either drink, exercise or both.
The research, which was
published in the European Heart Journal [1]
today (Wednesday 9 January), is the first to
look at the combined influence of
leisure-time physical activity and weekly
alcohol intake on the risk of fatal
ischaemic heart disease (a form of heart
disease characterised by a reduced blood
supply to the heart) and deaths from all
causes.
Between 1981-1983
Danish researchers obtained information on
various health-related issues (including
exercise and alcohol intake) from 11,914
Danish men and women aged 20 or older, who
were taking part in the larger, Copenhagen
City Heart Study.
During approximately 20
years of follow-up there were 1,242 cases of
fatal ischaemic heart disease (IHD) and
5,901 deaths from all causes among the study
participants.
Professor Morten
Grønbæk, Director of Research of the
National Institute of Public Health at the
University of Southern Denmark in
Copenhagen, and Professor Berit Heitmann,
Director for Research of the Institute of
Preventive Medicine at Copenhagen University
Hospitals, supervised the research.
Prof Grønbæk said: “Our
study shows that being both physically
active and drinking a moderate amount of
alcohol is important for lowering the risk
of both fatal IHD and death from all causes.
"For both men and women, being physically
active was associated with a significantly
lower risk for both fatal IHD and all-cause
mortality than being physically inactive;
and drinking alcohol was associated with a
lower risk of fatal IHD than abstaining.
"A
weekly moderate alcohol intake reduced the
risk of all-cause mortality among both men
and women, whereas the risk among heavy
drinkers was similar to non-drinkers.”
The lead author of the
study, Jane Østergaard Pedersen, a research
assistant at the National Institute of
Public Health, said: “An important finding
from our research for people who have
reasons for alcohol abstention such as
religious beliefs, previous alcoholism or
pregnancy, is that physical activity can
reverse some of the adverse health effects
associated with alcohol abstention. People
who did not drink but whose physical
activity was moderate or high, had a lower
risk of IHD than the inactive non-drinkers.”
Physical activity was
divided into three categories:
physically inactive
(less than two hours of light physical
activity a week such as reading, watching
television, going to the cinema);
low level of activity –
light physical activity for two to four
hours a week (walking, cycling, light
gardening, light physical exercise);
moderate to high level
of physical activity – light physical
activity for more than four hours a week or
more vigorous activity for two to four hours
a week (brisk walking, fast cycling, heavy
gardening, sports that cause perspiration or
exhaustion), or vigorous physical activity
for more than four hours a week, regular
heavy exercise, or competitive sports
several times a week.
Alcohol intake was
classified according to people’s reported
total weekly intake, with one drink
corresponding to one bottle of beer, one
glass of wine and one unit of spirits.
Non-drinkers consumed less than one drink a
week, moderate drinkers had between 1-14
drinks a week, and heavy drinkers drank 15
or more a week.
Within each level of
physical activity, non-drinkers had a 30-31
per cent higher risk of IHD compared to
moderate drinkers.
However, non-drinkers
who had a moderate or high level of physical
activity had a reduced risk of IHD of 31 and
33 per cent respectively compared to
physically inactive non-drinkers. People who
drank at least one drink a week and were
physically active had a 44-50 per cent lower
risk of IHD compared to physically inactive
non-drinkers.
When looking at deaths
from all causes (including IHD) the
researchers found that within each category
of weekly alcohol intake, the physically
inactive had the highest risk of death and
within each level of physical activity the
moderate drinkers had the lowest risk of
death from all causes.
Compared with
physically inactive non-drinkers, being
physically active was associated with a 23
per lower risk of deaths from all causes,
and being physically active and drinking at
least one drink a week was associated with
12-33 per cent lower risk of death.
Ms Østergaard Pedersen
said: “The lowest risk of death from all
causes was observed among the physically
active moderate drinkers and the highest
risk among the physically inactive non- and
heavy drinkers.”
She concluded: “Neither
physical activity alone nor alcohol intake
can completely reverse the increased risk
associated with alcohol abstention and lack
of physical activity. Thus, both moderate to
high levels of physical activity and a
moderate alcohol intake are important for
lowering the risk of fatal IHD and deaths
from all causes.”
