Excess More Common in
Beer Than Wine Drinkers
Excerpt By Gonzalo Argandona, Reuter's Health

SANTIAGO (Reuters Health) - People who prefer wine are less likely to become heavy drinkers or to develop cirrhosis compared with those who prefer to drink beer. These are the conclusions of a large population study conducted in Denmark and presented here this week at the Wine and Health International Congress.

"Our study is the first investigation that establishes a clear relationship between alcoholic beverage preference and the risk of heavy drinking and cirrhosis later on in life," Danish scientist Dr. Morten Gronbek of the National Institute of Public Health in Copenhagen, Denmark, told Reuters Health. Cirrhosis is a scarring of the liver that can lead to liver failure.

After surveying a sample of 10,000 moderate drinkers over a 5-year period, Gronbek and his colleagues concluded that women who preferred beer were 50% more likely to become excessive drinkers compared with those who drank wine.

The probability of men who chose beer for becoming excessive drinkers was 81% higher compared with men who preferred wine.

"We are not sure if these results are valid for all countries. Maybe there are some local cultural reasons, or perhaps it is due to the chemical composition of wine, which is less pleasurable to drink in high amounts," Gronbek explained in an interview with Reuters Health during the meeting.

In his presentation to the Congress, he also showed the results of a parallel study, conducted in the same area with 30,000 participants. The scientists registered the weekly intake of beer, wine and spirits, as well as hospital admissions and reasons of death.

Unsurprisingly, they found that heavy drinkers were much more likely to develop alcohol-induced cirrhosis. However, this risk decreased 2- to 4-fold for those who preferred wine, even if they were heavy drinkers.

"We are not implying that the best solution for cirrhosis is drinking wine. We only say that the risk of this alcoholic beverage is lower. But of course the safest measure to protect the liver is avoid excessive drinking," Gronbek noted.

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