Study Finds Better Heart Health in Male Drinkers

Male drinkers suffered at least 30 percent fewer heart attacks than non-drinkers, according to a Spanish study that found no such relationship between alcohol consumption and heart health among women.

Reuters reported Feb. 4 that researchers studied 15,630 men and 25,808 women ages 26-69 for 10 years. They found that, among men, moderate, high, and very high levels of alcohol consumption were linked with reduced risk of heart attacks and other heart-related “events” over the 10-year study period.

The benefit was seen regardless of the type of alcohol consumed, according to researcher Larrarte Arriola of the Public Health Department of Gipuzkoa in San Sebastian, part of the Basque region of Spain.

The findings were published in the Jan. 15, 2010 issue of the journal Heart.