Moderate Drinking Lowers Stress-Induced Heart Disease Risk, but Increases Cancer Risk: Study by Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital

Studies have shown that moderate drinking can lower the risk of stress-induced heart disease. However, in the same study, even a small amount of alcohol consumption was found to increase the risk of cancer.

Ahmed Tawakol, a researcher at Massachusetts General Hospital at Harvard Medical School in the United States, published a study on the 12th in the international journal ‘Journal of the American College of Cardiology’ that light alcohol consumption reduces the risk of heart disease by suppressing the brain’s negative response to stress stimuli. .

The research team said, “A moderate amount of alcohol suppresses the activation of stress transmission signals in the brain associated with heart disease,” but “However, even a small amount of alcohol increases the risk of cancer, so drinking for health is not recommended. no,” he stressed.

In a previous study, it is known that ‘small amount of drinking’, such as a can of beer or a glass of wine a day, has health benefits such as heart disease. However, it is not known specifically how and how alcohol causes positive effects on body organs such as the heart.

The research team analyzed data from 50,000 people enrolled in the Mass General Brigham Biobank to see in detail the effect of alcohol consumption on the risk of heart disease. Participants’ health records, alcohol consumption habits, and frequency of heart disease were assessed.

The analysis showed that drinking in small amounts was effective in reducing the risk of heart disease in people who were feeling chronically stressed. The incidence was only about half that of non-drinkers.

The research team conducted additional experiments to determine how alcohol consumption lowered the risk of heart disease in people exposed to stress. In order to accurately confirm the changes occurring in the brains of the subjects, PET-CT (positron emission tomography) scans of 754 people were analyzed.

As a result, it was confirmed that the brain’s amygdala response to external threatening stimuli decreased while people were drinking. The amygdala, located inside the temporal lobe of the brain, processes emotions such as fear and aggression. When the amygdala is overactive, blood pressure and heart rate increase, releasing inflammatory cells that can cause heart disease. Alcohol calms down this amygdala response.

However, the research team explained that drinking habits increased the risk of cancer regardless of the amount of alcohol consumed. Drinking alcohol to avoid stress-related heart disease is not a good health management strategy. The research team said, “In this study, we have identified the exact mechanism that stress causes heart disease. In follow-up research, we need to find ways to lower the risk of heart disease through other stress relief methods, such as exercise and meditation, rather than drinking.”