A study by the European Society of Cardiology shows that regular consumption of small amounts of alcohol is more linked to the risk of atrial fibrillation than excessive but occasional consumption.
According to the latest Public Health France survey, alcohol consumption in France was responsible for 41,000 of the 580,000 deaths recorded in 2015, or 7% of the deaths recorded that year.
Acting as an associated factor in many diseases, alcohol is notably responsible for 9,900 deaths linked to cardiovascular disease. Doubling the risk of heart attack and heart failure, its consumption can also cause atrial fibrillation, a common heart rhythm disorder that increases the risk of stroke fivefold.
However, according to a new study conducted by the European Society of Cardiology and published in the journal Europace EP, this risk of developing a cardiac arrhythmia varies according to the mode of consumption. People who regularly drink small amounts of alcohol would be more exposed than those who practice alcohol. binge drinkingwhich consists of absorbing a large quantity of alcohol in a minimum of time.
A formal link established between alcohol and atrial fibrillation
A previously published meta-analysis had already shown that the risk of atrial fibrillation increased by 8% for each drink containing 12 g of alcohol consumed per week. But its authors had not succeeded in establishing the origin of this correlation: the total quantity of alcohol or the number of drinking sessions.
In this new work, the researchers particularly focused on the relative importance of frequent versus occasional alcohol consumption in the five-year development of cases of atrial fibrillation. In total, their research looked at 9,776,956 people without atrial fibrillation. All underwent a health check-up in 2009 and at the same time completed a questionnaire on their alcohol consumption. They were tracked through 2017.
2% additional risk for each gram of alcohol drunk
By crossing the data collected, the researchers then found that consuming alcohol in small quantities several times a week was the most important risk factor for atrial fibrillation: plus 2% additional risk for each gram of alcohol consumed by week.
The more regular this consumption, the more this risk ratio increases. In contrast, excessive alcohol consumption did not show a clear link with the onset of atrial fibrillation.
“Our study suggests that frequent alcohol consumption is more dangerous than occasional binge drinking with respect to atrial fibrillation,” says Dr Jong-Il Choi, from the College of Medicine at the University of Korea and Korea University Anam Hospital, Seoul. “The number of drinking sessions was related to the onset of atrial fibrillation, regardless of age and gender. Repeated episodes of alcohol-triggered atrial fibrillation can lead to overt disease. , alcohol consumption can cause sleep disturbances, a known risk factor for atrial fibrillation.
According to the researcher, it is necessary to strengthen prevention on atrial fibrillation rather than on its complications, especially among people who drink alcohol occasionally because of the deterioration in the quality of life it causes. “Alcohol is probably the most easily modifiable risk factor. To prevent the onset of atrial fibrillation again, both the frequency and the weekly amount of alcohol consumption must be reduced,” warns Dr. Choi.
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