A study covering 4,400 drinkers and an almost equal number of non drinkers in ten cities to investigate the link between alcohol consumption and heart disease among Indians has revealed that even small amounts of alcohol consumption harms Indians, with even moderate drinkers having a 60% greater risk of CHD .
The study by doctors from AIIMS, Centre for Chronic Diseases, Public Health Foundation of India and Madras Diabetes Research Foundation, challenging the cardiac benefits of alcohol and actually warning of the potential harm to Indians due to alcohol, is the largest study ever done on the subject, according to a report in Times of India.
Contradicting oft reported suggestions that a peg or two were beneficial, doctors have now reported that those who consumed even low level of alcohol were at 40% greater risk of developing coronary heart disease (CHD) than abstainers. The chances were as high as 60% among moderate drinkers and nearly 100% in heavy drinkers.
Dr Ambuj Roy, assistant professor of cardiology at AIIMS and a senior member of the team that performed the recent heart surgery on the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has reportedly said, "Benefits of moderate alcohol consumption have been found among southern European populations from the Mediterranean region and Caucasians in Europe and North America. However, it clearly causes harm in Indians just like in African Americans."
The study categorized drinkers in three categories- heavy drinkers (who consumed more than 28 grams per day), moderate drinkers (14-28 grams per day) and light drinkers (less than 14 grams a day). One drink was equivalent to 14 grams of alcohol (equivalent to 120 ml of wine, 285 ml of beer and 30 ml of spirits), according to the researchers..
Dr. Roy explains that varying effect on different races could be genetic or also due to different drinking pattern. 55% of the people we studied were binge drinkers and had more than four drinks a day at one go. Such amounts can never be safe.
The methodology followed in the study does not appear to categorize drinkers who may be drinking wine regularly but moderately. As Dr. Roy concedes,’ the drinking patterns may account for the difference in results. In particular, Mediterranean drinking patterns are characterized by the use of daily constant amounts of alcohol- mainly in the form of wine which has been associated with protection against CHD as compared to irregular heavy or binge drinking that provides no favourable effect on CHD."
The study perhaps refers only to alcohol in peg measures- something which is normally not done when describing anything relating to wine; its always a glass of wine. Moreover, the amount of alcohol in gms in a glass varies with the percentage of alcohol present by volume in wine-it usually varies from 11-15% ( a variation of over 35%).
With 150 million cases of whisky being consumed in India, well towering over the 1.4 million cases (this number would have been even much less when the study was done some time ago) consumed in metro cities, chances of wine being the only drink of choice with the subjects is highly unlikely. A city like Chennai, one of the cities apparently covered, did not even have wine available till recently!
Binge drinking in any form- even wine has been found to be harmful to heart in all the global studies, some even reporting sudden death. Therefore, it is not scientifically correct to include binge drinkers in the studies. A significant number of Indians don’t drink during the week but indulge in binge drinking over thee week-(binge drinking of even non-alcoholic strong coffee or even milk is harmful!).
With due respect to the research team, prima facie, it does appear that wine was not a part of the study and DelWine openly challenges the research team to release evidence that moderate wine drinking was harmful for Indian hearts when most global studies have shown several benefits using much bigger subjects studied over longer periods.
We continue to recommend regular drinking a glass or two of wine, preferably red and with meals, but suggest you discuss with Dr. Roy or any other progressive cardiologist who has an open mind before making it the healthy habit. We need to wait till such studies are conducted with subjects drinking only wine.-editor.
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