Aug 22, 2018 04:18 PM
(This post was last modified: Aug 22, 2018 06:28 PM by Magical Realist.)
https://www.devonlive.com/news/health/dr...se-1922411
"Drinking a glass of wine a day almost halves women's risk of heart disease because it boosts sex hormone levels, a new study found.
Unfortunately, the same does not apply to men. (well crap!)
Moderate wine consumption boost levels of oestrogen - and the sex hormone is good for the circulation. This could explain the "gender gap" in the protective effects of alcohol, say British scientists.
The study found those women who steadily drank in moderation were 47 per cent less likely to develop Britain's second biggest killer than teetotallers.
But the same did not apply to men. Those who have a regular pint are just as prone to the illness as people who never touch alcohol.
Dr Dara O'Neill, of University College London, explained: "A possible explanation is there is some evidence drinking alcohol may increase oestrogen levels in women, and oestrogen levels are thought to be linked to lower coronary heart disease risk.
"So this may contribute to the differences between female non-drinkers and moderate drinkers, and partially help explain why a similar effect is not observed amongst men."
The study followed more than 35,000 mainly British middle aged participants for a decade.
Dr O'Neill said: "Our findings are based on observational data from what are called prospective cohort studies.
"This allowed us to look at their alcohol drinking across an extended interval and to look at how that is associated with their subsequent risk of coronary heart disease.
She described the 'gender phenomenon' as "interesting".
Added Dr O'Neill: "There are potentially a lot of factors at play and we plan to explore this further to ensure we get a more accurate and complete understanding.
"When we looked a risk amongst female participants, we estimated that women in our study who consistently reported not drinking had between a 43 per cent and 155 per cdent higher risk than consistently moderate drinkers of developing coronary heart disease during the follow-up period."
But she said it is important to understand that other factors could have been at play.
Added Dr O'Neill: "For example, as we only captured drinking levels across ten years on average, it may have been that the female non-drinkers had a prior history of drinking before that point and chose to abstain for health reasons that in turn influenced their risk of coronary heart disease."
"Drinking a glass of wine a day almost halves women's risk of heart disease because it boosts sex hormone levels, a new study found.
Unfortunately, the same does not apply to men. (well crap!)
Moderate wine consumption boost levels of oestrogen - and the sex hormone is good for the circulation. This could explain the "gender gap" in the protective effects of alcohol, say British scientists.
The study found those women who steadily drank in moderation were 47 per cent less likely to develop Britain's second biggest killer than teetotallers.
But the same did not apply to men. Those who have a regular pint are just as prone to the illness as people who never touch alcohol.
Dr Dara O'Neill, of University College London, explained: "A possible explanation is there is some evidence drinking alcohol may increase oestrogen levels in women, and oestrogen levels are thought to be linked to lower coronary heart disease risk.
"So this may contribute to the differences between female non-drinkers and moderate drinkers, and partially help explain why a similar effect is not observed amongst men."
The study followed more than 35,000 mainly British middle aged participants for a decade.
Dr O'Neill said: "Our findings are based on observational data from what are called prospective cohort studies.
"This allowed us to look at their alcohol drinking across an extended interval and to look at how that is associated with their subsequent risk of coronary heart disease.
She described the 'gender phenomenon' as "interesting".
Added Dr O'Neill: "There are potentially a lot of factors at play and we plan to explore this further to ensure we get a more accurate and complete understanding.
"When we looked a risk amongst female participants, we estimated that women in our study who consistently reported not drinking had between a 43 per cent and 155 per cdent higher risk than consistently moderate drinkers of developing coronary heart disease during the follow-up period."
But she said it is important to understand that other factors could have been at play.
Added Dr O'Neill: "For example, as we only captured drinking levels across ten years on average, it may have been that the female non-drinkers had a prior history of drinking before that point and chose to abstain for health reasons that in turn influenced their risk of coronary heart disease."
