Quitting alcohol could actually INCREASE risk factor for heart attack and stroke, study says
QUITTING booze might actually increase your odds of a health condition linked to deadly heart attack and strokes, a new study has revealed.
Scientists in Japan discovered that stopping alcohol abruptly can lead to changes in cholesterol levels.
While they didn’t look at the implications of this, high cholesterol can increase the risk of heart and circulatory problems – like heart attacks and strokes.
The study adds fuel to the ongoing debate about whether alcohol is truly good or bad for your health.
It’s a complex issue, with some new studies suggesting moderate boozing can bring with it cardiovascular benefits, particularly for women.
The amount of booze optimal to provide any potential heart protection is low – it’s not the same as binge drinking throughout the week.
The overall consensus among top global doctors remains the same: no level of alcohol consumption is completely safe for our health.
But now, experts from the Institute of Science in Tokyo and Harvard Medical School in the US, say quitting alcohol abruptly might send cholesterol levels haywire.
Cholesterol is a fat in the blood that comes in “good” (HDL) and “bad” (LDL) forms.
HDL helps clear excess cholesterol, while too much LDL can clog arteries and raise heart disease risk.
The study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, tracked the health and lifestyle choices of 57,691 people in Japan for ten years.
It found that those who stopped drinking alcohol experienced a rise in LDL and a drop in HDL.
This imbalance can be harmful because HDL cholesterol helps protect the heart, while high levels of LDL cholesterol can lead to plaque buildup in the arteries.
Conversely, the study also found that starting to drink alcohol was associated with “moderate cholesterol improvement,” with higher alcohol consumption leading to more pronounced effects.
The study isn’t the first to find good news for drinkers’ cholesterol levels, though it’s one of the larger studies with longer follow-up time.
The new cholesterol findings aren’t an invitation for nondrinkers to start drinking or for heavy drinkers to keep hitting the bottle hard, the researchers caution.
However, those who do want to quit should keep a careful eye on their cholesterol levels.
“Public health recommendations should continue to emphasise moderation in alcohol consumption,” the authors wrote.
“But cholesterol levels should be carefully monitored after alcohol cessation to mitigate potential [cardiovascular disease] risks,” they added.
‘Interpret with caution’
Health experts have since raised concerns about potential flaws in the study.
Stephen Bright, a senior lecturer in addiction at Edith Cowan University, in Austrialia highlighted that some participants who quit drinking may have been heavy drinkers, which could skew the results when compared to moderate drinkers.
“If people who have been heavy drinkers but ceased consuming alcohol are excluded from the analysis, the data might show there is actually no benefit from consuming alcohol on cholesterol levels,” he said.
He also pointed out that some previous studies on alcohol’s cardiovascular benefits have now been disproven.
Dr Rachel Visontay is with The Matilda Centre for Research in Mental Health and Substance Use at The University of Sydney, said the results should be “intereped with caution”.
“Even if low-level drinking does have modest benefits for cholesterol levels, recent research has shown this doesn’t necessarily translate into protection against death by cardiovascular disease.
“Moreover, for other serious conditions like cancer, we know that every drink increases risk.
“For these reasons, it’s really important that people don’t interpret this new research as a reason to start drinking or to maintain unhealthy drinking patterns.”
When not to stop drinking suddenly
But those who are clinically dependent on it can die if they suddenly stop drinking altogether.
If you experience fits, shaking hands, sweating, seeing things that are not real, depression, anxiety, or difficulty sleeping after a period of drinking and while sobering up, then you may be clinically alcohol dependent and should NOT suddenly, completely stop drinking.
But you can still take control of your drinking.
Talk to a GP or your local community alcohol service who will be able to get help for you to reduce your drinking safely.
You can also seek help from:
- Drinkline – Call 0300 123 1110 (weekdays 9am to 8pm, weekends 11am to 4pm).
- Alcoholics Anonymous – free self-help group that offers a 12 week plan
- Al-Anon – A group for family members or friends struggling to help a loved one
- Adfam – a national charity working with families affected by drugs and alcohol
- National Association for Children of Alcoholics (Nacoa) – helpline for children who have parents who are alcohol dependent – call 0800 358 3456
Source: Alcohol Change