Regular alcohol consumption linked with a lower risk of diabetes

Regular consumption of alcohol could be associated with a decreased chance of developing diabetes, the results of a new study published in Diabetologia suggest.

Led by Professor Janne Tolstrup and other researchers at the National Institute of Public Health at the University of Southern Denmark, it was found that men who consumed alcohol 3 – 4 times a week were 27% less likely to develop diabetes compared to those who didn’t drink. In women, this same frequency resulted in a 32% reduction in risk, compared to those who abstained from drinking.

Light and moderate drinking has been previously linked with a lower risk of developing diabetes by past studies, while heavy consumption was associated with the same or higher chance as those who abstain from drinking. However, the effect of alcohol type and drinking pattern (days of drinking per week) have previously resulted in inconclusive or inconsistent results.

To fill in this gap, the study used data from 70,551 participants of the Danish Health Examination Study (DAHNES), a questionnaire which asked men and women over 18 years of age to give details of their health and lifestyle. Follow up information was then gathered until 2012.

After this time, 859 men and 887 women had developed diabetes, though the study didn’t specify between type 1 and type 2 diabetes.

Wine was associated with the highest reduction in diabetes risk. In men and women, at least 7 drinks per week was associated with a 25-30% reduction in the risk of diabetes, compared to those who drank less than one day a week.

The authors suggest that this could be down to the effect of polyphenols, compounds present in wine which can help with blood sugar management.

Beer was also shown to have beneficial effects, with men who drank on average 1-6 times a week showing 21% less chance of developing diabetes compared to those who drank less than once a week. No effect was shown in women.

Consumption of spirits had the worst effect, with an 83% increase in the risk of diabetes in women who drank at least 7 times a week. However, no association was seen in men.

“Our findings suggest that alcohol drinking frequency is associated with the risk of diabetes,” say the authors of the study, “and that consumption of alcohol over 3-4 week days is associated with the lowest risks of diabetes, even after taking average weekly total consumption into account.”

So does this mean you should embark on a drinking spree? The answer is a firm no, according to the head of research communications at Diabetes UK, Dr Emily Burns. “While these findings are interesting, we wouldn’t recommend that people see them as a greenlight to drink in excess of the existing NHS guidelines,” she stated, referring to the recommendation that men and women don’t drink more than 14 units of alcohol a week. “Especially as the impact of regular alcohol consumption on the risk of type 2 diabetes will be different from one person to the next.”