Drinking With Friends is Linked to Lower Rates of Heart Disease, Stroke
Having a supportive social network enhances the health benefits of having a few drinks, new research from Japan suggests.
The study of Japanese men years found that moderate to light alcohol consumption, coupled with high levels of social support, were linked to lower rates of heart disease and stroke.
“But remember,” Dr. Hiroyasu Iso from Osaka University noted in a statement, “this beneficial effect of social support is confined to light-to-moderate drinking. Heavy drinking is risky irrespective of social support level.”
In a report in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, the researchers note that light to moderate drinking has been shown to help protect against stroke and heart disease. Being surrounded by lots of family and friends is also known to be good for the heart and may even help people live longer.
The new study, Iso and colleagues say, shows that high levels of social support may enhance the heart-healthy effects of light to moderate alcohol consumption.
Iso’s team examined drinking patterns, social support and cardiovascular health of 19,356 men in their 40s, 50s and 60s who were enrolled in the Japan Public Health Center-based Prospective Study. Their alcohol consumption was classified into seven categories: never, past, occasional, 1 to 149, 150 to 299, 300 to 449, or 450 or more grams of alcohol per week.
During an average follow up of more than 9 years, 629 strokes and 207 coronary heart diseases were documented in the men.
