MEN who drink alcohol every day have a lower risk of heart disease than those who do not, but the habit does not offer the same protection for women, research suggests.

A study of more than 50,000 people indicates correlations between alcohol consumption and heart disease rates in both sexes, with men the biggest beneficiaries of drinking.

Researchers found that the risks of coronary heart disease were lowest for the most frequent male drinkers. Men who drank on one day a week had a 7 per cent reduced risk, whereas men who drank daily had a 41 per cent reduced risk.

Although women who drank alcohol at least once a week had a lower risk of heart disease than those who drank less frequently, the study also indicated that the risks were similar if they drank daily (36 per cent reduced risk) or weekly (35 per cent).

The researchers, led by Morten Grønbæk, of the Centre for Alcohol Research at the National Institute for Public Health in Copenhagen, said the findings suggested that for men the quantities drunk were less important, as long as they drank every day. For women, however, it appeared that the amount of alcohol consumed was more important than drinking frequency.

The participants, who were involved in a national health study in Denmark, were aged 50-65. Details on alcohol intake and drinking frequency over the preceding year were collected, and the participants were monitored for an average of just under six years.

Data were gathered on a total of 28,448 women, who consumed an average of 5.5 alcoholic drinks a week, while weekly consumption for the 25,052 men was 11.3 drinks.

Coronary heart events were recorded and the results were adjusted for known risk factors, such as age, smoking, education, physical activity and diet. During the study, published today in the British Medical Journal, 749 women and 1,283 men developed heart disease.

Professor Grønbæk said that the findings raised important questions about drinking patterns and heart health among men and women. The authors emphasised, however, that the benefits of alcohol on heart disease were far exceeded by the harmful effects of heavy drinking.

In an accompanying editorial, Annie Britton, senior lecturer in epidemiology and public health at University College London, agreed that the findings should be viewed in this context when giving public health advice. Dr Britton urged a cautious interpretation and said that the results should not be used to justify potentially harmful drinking behaviour, adding that the Danish participants were middle-aged and therefore presumably at a greater risk of heart disease.

She writes: “In the UK, we are drinking well above the optimum level for health, so advice and legislation about keeping consumption safe and healthy are needed.”

The British Heart Foundation advises sticking to the recommended guidelines of no more than 14 units per week for women and 21 units a week for men, and to have a couple of alcohol-free nights per week.

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