Scientists from the Wake Forest School of Medicine found that drinking alcohol could increase high blood pressure in people with type 2 diabetes.
The research is published in the Journal of the American Heart Association and was conducted by Jonathan J. Mayl et al.
Type 2 diabetes is a chronic condition that affects the way the body processes blood sugar.
With type 2 diabetes, the body either doesn’t produce enough insulin or resists insulin.
Symptoms include increased thirst, frequent urination, hunger, fatigue, and blurred vision. In some cases, there may be no symptoms.
Treatments include diet, exercise, medication, and insulin therapy.
Previous research has found that heavy alcohol drinking has a strong association with high blood pressure. However, whether moderate alcohol drinking has a similar health effect is unclear.
In the study, researchers aimed to examine the association of alcohol drinking with high blood pressure in people with type 2 diabetes.
They analyzed data from 10,200 people in the ACCORD (Action to Control Cardiovascular Risk in Diabetes) trial.
The team categorized alcohol drinking as none, light (1–7 drinks/week), moderate (8–14 drinks/week), and heavy (≥15 drinks/week).
They also categorized blood pressure using American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association guidelines as normal, elevated blood pressure, stage 1 high blood pressure, and stage 2 blood pressure.
The researchers found that light alcohol drinking was not linked to increased blood pressure or any stage of high blood pressure.
Moderate alcohol drinking was linked to increased blood pressure, stage 1, and stage 2 high blood pressure.
Heavy alcohol drinking was linked to increased blood pressure, stage 1, and stage 2 high blood pressure.
These findings suggest that moderate alcohol drinking is linked to high blood pressure in patients with type 2 diabetes and increased heart disease risk.
The researchers also suggest a dose‐risk association between the amount of alcohol and the degree of high blood pressure. The more alcohol patients drink, the higher blood pressure they have.
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