Study details

For the study, researchers analyzed data on more than 19,000 adults in the United States, Korea, and Japan between 1997 and 2021, measuring their alcohol consumption in grams of alcohol consumed rather than number of drinks.

The World Health Organization defines a standard drink as 10 grams of alcohol while the United States defines it as 14 grams of alcohol, which equates to roughly a 12-ounce serving of beer, five ounces of wine, or a 1.5-ounce shot of distilled spirits.

The researchers reviewed the data on all participants in the study for more than five years and found that, among those consuming an average of 12 grams of alcohol per day, systolic blood pressure rose 1.25 mm Hg and diastolic blood pressure rose 1.14 mm Hg.

Meanwhile, in those consuming an average of 48 grams of alcohol per day, systolic blood pressure rose 4.9 mm Hg while diastolic blood pressure rose 3.1 mm Hg.

The study noted that diastolic blood pressure isn't as strong of a predictor of heart disease risk as systolic, and that the association was only seen in males, who accounted for 65% of the study. However, the study noted the results in systolic blood pressure were seen in both males and females.

Discussion

Marco Vinceti, senior study author and a professor of epidemiology and public health at the University of Modena, said the study found "no beneficial effects in adults who drank a low level of alcohol compared to those who did not drink alcohol," and that the researchers were "somewhat surprised to see that consuming an already-low level of alcohol was also linked to higher blood pressure changes over time compared to no consumption — although far less than the blood pressure increase seen in heavy drinkers."

"Alcohol is certainly not the sole driver of increases in blood pressure; however, our findings confirm it contributes in a meaningful way," Vinceti added. "Limiting alcohol intake is advised, and avoiding it is even better."

Paul Whelton, a coauthor on the study and chair in global public health at Tulane University's School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, noted the blood pressure increases found among those consuming 48 grams of alcohol per day "would certainly move you from pre-hypertensive to hypertensive, just as eating an excessive amount of sodium, too few fruits and vegetables and not getting enough physical activity will push you in the wrong direction."

The idea that drinking too much alcohol raises blood pressure has been around for a while, according to Andrew Freeman, director of cardiovascular prevention and wellness at National Jewish Health.

"However, this review found relatively low levels of alcohol impacted blood pressure," he said. "So, to me, this is yet another study showing there may not be any safe amount of alcohol."

Freeman noted that studying alcohol use can be difficult because it's associated with both good and bad behaviors.

"If you're drinking in a smoke-filled bar at night with friends, (your exposure) to secondhand smoke and alcohol will certainly disrupt your sleep, and both are harmful to health," he said. "But you're also getting the positives of socialization."

Ultimately, Freeman said he doesn't recommend people start drinking. But, "If they do drink, they should try to really minimize it and then do their best to maintain healthy behaviors that help the heart, such as exercise and stress reduction. Exercise is an amazingly effective way to lower blood pressure, both systolic and diastolic, as it helps the heart relax and maintain better efficiency." (Moniuszko, CBS News, 7/31; LaMotte, CNN, 7/31)

While every expert agrees that drinking too much alcohol is unhealthy, the amount of alcohol the average person can safely consume has long been debated, with many experts saying the decision ultimately comes down to a person's risk tolerance, Karen Weintraub reports for USA Today.