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Bob Miller	Alcohol Lowers Risk for CHD and Mortality Coronary heart disease and 11-year all-cause mortality were lower with 1 or 2 drinks daily. In this systematic review and meta-analysis of 84 prospective cohort studies with >1 million participants, investigators assessed the effect of alcohol consumption on cardiovascular (CV) disease–related mortality, incidence of and mortality from coronary heart disease (CHD), and incidence of and mortality from stroke. Mean follow-up was 11 years. After adjustment for multiple confounders, active drinkers had significantly lower risks for CV disease–related mortality (relative risk, 0.75), incident CHD (RR, 0.71), and CHD-related mortality (RR, 0.75) than did nondrinkers. In contrast, alcohol consumption was not associated with lower risk for incident stroke and stroke-related mortality. In dose-response analyses, the lowest risks for CV disease–related mortality, incident CHD, and CHD-related mortality occurred at an alcohol consumption level of 1 to 2 drinks daily, whereas the lowest risks for incident stroke and stroke-related mortality occurred at 1 drink daily. Finally, in the 31 studies that provided data on all-cause mortality, active drinkers had significantly lower risk for all-cause mortality (RR, 0.87) than did nondrinkers. Insufficient data were available to provide risk estimates for beer, wine, and spirits individually. Comment: Moderate alcohol consumption is associated with lower risk for CV disease, CHD, CHD-related mortality, and all-cause mortality. Because moderate alcohol consumption favorably affects biomarkers associated with CV disease (e.g., higher HDL cholesterol levels; JW Gen Med Mar 15 2011), these results are biologically plausible. — Paul S. Mueller, MD, MPH, FACP Published in Journal Watch General Medicine March 15, 2011 Citation(s): Ronksley PE et al. Association of alcohol consumption with selected cardiovascular disease outcomes: A systematic review and meta-analysis. BMJ 2011 Feb 22; 342:d671. (http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmj.d671) Original article (Subscription may be required) Medline abstract (Free)
Greg and Veta	Guess I've got to start drinking more!
ALLEY CAT
alrtg	Sorry guys, I am NOT planning on starting to drink simply to extend my life expectancy. If I were to start drinking, I might like it and wind up shortening my life.