Binge drinking does not spare the arteries. Practiced monthly or weekly, it increases blood pressure.
The brain, the liver, the heart… The organs pay the price for excessive alcohol consumption, even occasional. For the first time, a study also demonstrates the harmful effect of express biture on blood pressure. A pernicious but real impact, according to the results published in the Journal of Adolescent Health.
The authors of this study, from the University of Montreal Hospital Center (Canada), followed 756 20-year-olds from various social backgrounds. These volunteers were asked about their alcohol consumption at the start of the study and at the age of 24. On the occasion of this milestone, they also underwent an examination of their systolic pressure.
Behavior that lasts
Young adults who practice binge drinking have on average a higher blood pressure than others by 2 millimeters of mercury for monthly consumers and 4 mm for weekly drinkers.
“More than one in four young people who indulge in express drinking meets the criteria for prehypertension, that is to say a systolic pressure between 120 and 139 millimeters of mercury”, specifies Jennifer O’Loughlin, main author of this study.
The follow-up of these participants also highlights a worrying trend: 85% of young people who indulge in massive drunkenness do so at 24 years old. But these bad habits can be changed, the authors point out. Taking action is all the more important as hypertension is an important cardiovascular risk factor. “A slight and continuous rise in systolic pressure is a wake-up call,” insists Jennifer O’Loughlin. The next step will be to observe if the impact of binge drinking is still observable around your thirties.
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