Evidence continues to mount that
moderate alcohol consumption may protect against the development
of type 2 diabetes.
Researchers based in the
Netherlands looked at 15 different studies and concluded
that moderate drinkers were less likely to have type 2 diabetes
than teetotalers. Further, they report, the higher risk
of type 2 diabetes among nondrinkers in comparison to moderate
drinkers was equal to the higher risk observed among heavy
drinkers.
"The present study supports
the evidence of a considerably reduced risk of type 2 diabetes
associated with moderate but not with heavy alcohol consumption
in men and women with low or high (body mass index)," the
researchers write in this month's issue of Diabetes Care.
In comments stated, Koppes
said there doesn't seem to be large differences in the effects
of beer, wine or spirits, "but the pattern of consumption
is of importance. If you do drink, do not save up for the
weekend. One drink per day...is better than seven drinks
on Friday."
The worldwide prevalence
of diabetes is expected to increase by 37 percent between
2000 and 2030, according to one previously published report.
And, in many cases, the cause of this increasingly common
disease in the United States is due to the lack of exercise
and the high prevalence of overweight and obesity, as well
as the normal aging of the population, researchers say.
"With the expectation of
(more than) 100 million new cases of type 2 diabetes in
the coming two decades, and with the prevention of type
2 diabetes now being recognized as an urgent priority, attaining
prevention is the central challenge," the authors of the
current report contend.
Previous studies have linked
alcohol consumption to a reduced risk of type 2 diabetes
but reviews of these studies were inconclusive about the
scope of the association and the incidence of the disease
associated with heavy drinking. To clarify the association,
Dr. Lando L. J. Koppes, of the VU University Medical Center
in Amsterdam, and his team searched the literature for studies
about type 2 diabetes and alcohol consumption that were
published between 1966 and July 2004.
The studies, conducted in
the United States, Japan, Finland, Korea, the Netherlands,
Germany and the UK, involved a total of 11,959 cases of
type 2 diabetes among 369,862 men and women who were followed
for 4 to 20 years, or an average 12 years.
Altogether, the compiled
findings revealed a U-shaped association between alcohol
drinking and type 2 diabetes risk, such that the lowest
risk of the condition was found among moderate drinkers
and the highest risk occurred among nondrinkers and heavy
drinkers. Body mass index, a measure of height versus weight,
did not seem to affect the results.
A standard drink contains
about 10 grams of alcohol in Europe, 12 grams in the U.S.
and Canada, and 21 grams in Japan.
Moderate drinkers -- those
who drank between six and 48 grams of alcohol per day --
were about 30 percent less likely to develop type 2 diabetes
than nondrinkers, the report indicates. The risk of the
condition among those who drank 48 grams of alcohol a day
or more was similar to that among those who did not drink
alcohol.
Previous researchers have
reported a similar association between moderate alcohol
drinking and a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease. The
exact mechanism by which moderate alcohol drinking reduces
the risk for either condition is unknown.
SOURCE: Diabetes Care, March
2005.
