Study authors mentioned only that acute ethanol administration caused a transitory increase in BP at 20 minutes. Karatzi 2013Maufrais 2017 and Van De Borne 1997 measured blood pressure before and after treatment but did not report these measurements. We classified nine studies as having high risk of bias (Agewall 2000; Bau 2011; Buckman 2015; Dumont 2010; Fazio 2004; Karatzi 2013; Maufrais 2017; https://ecosoberhouse.com/ Rossinen 1997; Van De Borne 1997). Agewall 2000 measured blood pressure upon participants’ arrival and did not measure blood pressure after the intervention. The aim of Bau 2011 was to determine the effects of alcohol on heart rate variability, so study authors did not measure and report DBP. For Buckman 2015, blood pressure was recorded beat to beat continuously, but DBP was not reported.
What does the study show?
Most importantly, masked hypertension, where patients are hypertensive at home but not in the doctor’s office, is as serious a health risk as sustained hypertension. However, alcohol consumption has been strongly linked to human diseases, including dementia, liver cirrhosis, and neurological conditions. A recent research paper examined whether drinking was related to hypertension, the root factor in morbidity and mortality caused by cardiovascular disease (CVD). For low doses of alcohol, we found low‐certainty evidence suggesting that SBP, DBP, and MAP fall within the first six hours after alcohol consumption. High‐dose alcohol consumption increased HR by approximately 6 bpm in participants, and the effect lasted up to 12 hours. The AHA states even people who drink one alcoholic beverage per day showed a link to higher blood pressure compared to non-drinkers.
References to studies excluded from this review
- Hypertension leads to an increased risk of other health problems, including stroke, heart attack, and heart disease.
- Although eligible studies included East Asian, Latino, and Caucasian populations, they lacked African, South Asian, and Native Hawaiian/other Pacific Islander representation.
- Other ethanol-induced changes may be related to enzymes that modulate protein synthesis and/or breakdown (e.g., ubiquitine-ligases).
- In the endothelium, depletion of NO production or NO reaction with superoxide anion to form toxic peroxynitrite radical which causes endothelial injury, impairment and hypertension in alcohol treated rats[20-22,62,80,94].
- When noradrenaline stimulates the adrenergic receptors located in the heart muscles, heart rate and blood pressure are increased.
The dose of alcohol had to be reported by study authors for inclusion in the systematic review. Because there are no published standards for differentiating between low and medium doses of alcohol, we chose the alcohol content in one standard drink as the can alcohol lower blood pressure threshold between low dose and medium dose. Because the alcohol content in one standard drink varies among different countries (ranging from 8 g to 14 g), we chose the Canadian standard for an alcoholic beverage, which is 14 g of pure alcohol (CCSA).
Roth 2013 published data only
Heavy alcohol users who cut back to moderate drinking can lower their top number in a blood pressure reading (systolic pressure) by about 5.5 millimeters of mercury (mm Hg) and their bottom number (diastolic pressure) by about 4 mm Hg. We did not identify enough studies to construct a funnel plot for the outcomes under low doses of alcohol. We interpreted only funnel plots that were constructed based on studies reporting outcomes under medium dose and high dose of alcohol versus placebo comparisons.
- Therefore, we were unable to perform a subgroup analysis based on the sex of participants.
- We took several steps to minimise the risk of selection bias to identify eligible studies for inclusion in the review.
- They recommended confirming these results in younger women and in men, particularly since their subjects had been older women, who have more significant cardiovascular risk.
Narkiewicz 2000 published data only
Why it is important to do this review
Potential biases in the review process
