Spanish Men’s Hearts Tolerate Alcohol Better

Almost internationally, medical research has suggested that the bottom of the J-shaped curve for alcohol intake is 2 drinks a day for men and 1 drink a day for women.  Both more, and less, amounts lead to an increase in a number of conditions – chiefly in the cardiovascular field.  A study from Spain, reported in the British Medical Journal, suggests that Spanish men (but not women) may have an advantage in this regard. 

Over 40,000 Spanish men and women completed questionnaires about their lifestyles, including alcohol consumption; they were then followed for an average of 10 years. During that period, 1.5% of them had a cardiovascular event (sudden cardiac death, a heart attack, angina, or a stroke).

Moderate, high, and very high alcohol consumption in men was associated with a reduced risk of cardiovascular events:  The reductions were 14% in former drinkers, 36% with low, 53% with moderate, 55% with high, and 51% with very high intake.  The levels ‘moderate’ to ‘very high’ covered 1 drink (up to 5 mg) to 6 drinks (more than 90 mg) daily.  The type of alcohol beverage played no role.  In women, intake wasn’t significantly associated with cardiovascular events, probably because the number of such events was small.

Why are these findings so different from those in other ethnic groups?  The design of the study was adequate to remove the risk of ‘abstainer error’, in which people who had recently stopped drinking are classified as non-drinkers, thus enlarging and corrupting the reference group. 

We don’t suggest that male readers of this report throw caution to the winds and drink with abandon – not even if they are Spanish.  The dangers of too much alcohol are not limited to cardiovascular disease.  Don’t forget cirrhosis of the liver, with its complications – portal hypertension and esophageal varices.