NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - The heart benefits seen with light alcohol use may relate to its ability to reduce inflammation, new research suggests.
In a study of older adults, light alcohol use was tied to lower blood levels of interleukin-6 and C-reactive protein--two inflammatory proteins that have been linked to heart disease, researchers report in the American Heart Association (news - web sites) journal Circulation.
Several studies have identified protective heart effects with light alcohol use. The new findings provide a possible explanation for why such use is beneficial.
To better understand the link between alcohol intake and heart risk, Dr. Stefano Volpato, from the University of Ferrara in Italy, and colleagues in the US analyzed data from 2574 older adults. Blood samples were examined for levels of various inflammatory proteins and the subjects completed questionnaires regarding alcohol intake.
After adjusting for other factors, such as history of heart disease and physical activity, the authors found that alcohol use showed a J-shaped relationship with interleukin-6 and C-reactive protein levels. This means that such levels were intermediate with no alcohol intake, lowest with light alcohol intake (1 to 7 drinks per week), and highest with high alcohol intake (8 or more drinks per week).
In contrast, alcohol consumption was not tied to levels of tumor necrosis factor-alpha or plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 -- two other well known inflammatory proteins.
"Our data confirm that light alcohol intake may have an anti-inflammatory effect," the investigators conclude. This "may reflect a direct effect of (alcohol) on interleukin-6 metabolism."
