Survey reveals most drinkers exceed current safe alcohol guidelines

Jul 30 2008

According to a new study people who drink more than the guidelines for safe alcohol consumption place themselves at risk of developing metabolic syndrome.

Metabolic syndrome is a combination of a number of risk factors and conditions which include obesity, high blood pressure and diabetes that are strongly related to cardiovascular disease, one of the leading causes of death in the developed world.

Current guidelines in most countries advise no more than two drinks per day with many saying less for women, and the new research is interesting because it says that most drinkers exceed that limit on a regular basis.

A survey in the U.S. has revealed that 58 percent of all current drinkers usually exceed the guidelines, and 52 percent of all current drinkers reported at least one episode of binge drinking in the past year.

Lead researcher Dr. Amy Fan from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), says most people who consume alcohol in the U.S. drink in ways that may increase their risk of metabolic syndrome as well as other related conditions.

For the study the researchers looked at data from the 1999-2002 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey on some 1,529 participants, aged 20 to 84 years, which included an interview, a physical examination and a blood test.

They restricted their analysis to current drinkers and measures of alcohol consumption included, usual quantity consumed, drinking frequency, and frequency of binge drinking.

Dr. Fan says as more than half of current drinkers in the study drank in excess of the guidelines and reported binge drinking, future prevention efforts should focus on reducing alcohol consumption to safer levels.

The researchers say few doctors screen their patients for alcohol use or are knowledgeable about guidelines that define low-risk or moderate drinking and public health messages should emphasize the potential cardiometabolic risk associated with drinking in excess and binge drinking.

The article "Patterns of Alcohol Consumption and the Metabolic Syndrome," will appear in the October issue of JCEM, a publication of The Endocrine Society.