Gaby
A large-scale study by California cardiologists uncovered new patterns in alcohol use among women and again highlighted alcohol’s harmful effects on women’s health.
Researchers from The Permanente Medical Group found that middle-aged women who have at least a glass of wine every night have a significantly higher risk of developing cardiovascular disease.
Women classified as heavy drinkers—defined as consuming at least three glasses of wine daily for three months—were 68 percent more likely to develop cardiovascular disease than women who drink only a few times a week.
In contrast, men who drink a serving of wine every evening had a 33 percent higher likelihood of developing heart disease. Cardiologists were alarmed: the health risks of regular alcohol consumption were substantially greater for women than for men.
A standard serving of alcohol contains 10 milliliters (8 grams) of ethanol. That amount is roughly equal to 250 ml of 5% beer or 150 ml of dry wine.
What Scientists Discovered
The study followed 189,000 women and 243,000 men aged 18 to 65. Participants were divided into three groups based on weekly alcohol consumption and monitored closely for four years.
The first group consisted of light drinkers, who consumed one to two servings per week. The second group included moderate drinkers, who had three to seven servings per week. The third group comprised heavy drinkers, who consumed eight or more servings per week.
Participants who reported consuming more than three servings in a single day during a three-month period were classified as alcohol abusers.
The researchers adjusted for other heart disease risk factors, including age, physical activity, and smoking.
By the end of the study’s fourth year, more than 3,100 participants had developed cardiovascular disease. The incidence was roughly the same in the low- and moderate-consumption groups.
Women who consumed eight servings per week were 45 percent more likely to develop cardiovascular disease than women in the low-consumption group.
The study notes that the average age for heart attacks among women is 70. But in this cohort, signs of cardiovascular disease appeared at a significantly younger age.
“I did not expect these results in this age group. We usually see higher cardiovascular risk in older women, so the findings were surprising,” said Dr. Jamal Rana, the study’s lead author.
Why Scientists Addressed This Topic
The researchers launched the study because alcohol consumption among young and middle-aged women has been rising, according to the Daily Mail.
Another Columbia University study of more than 200,000 American adults found that the share of women aged 30–44 who regularly drink doubled from 21 percent in 2006 to 42 percent in 2018.
Since 2016, deaths among women from excessive alcohol use have risen 35 percent. Some experts blame social media, where middle-aged women normalize and even joke about heavy drinking. The term “wine moms” refers to mothers who use alcohol to ease the stress of parenting.
