Metabolic syndrome is a combination of a number of risk factors and conditions which include obesity, high blood pressure and diabetes that are strongly related to cardiovascular disease, one of the leading causes of death in the developed world.
Current guidelines in most countries advise no more than two drinks per day with many saying less for women, and the new research is interesting because it says that most drinkers exceed that limit on a regular basis.
A survey in the U.S. has revealed that 58 percent of all current drinkers usually exceed the guidelines, and 52 percent of all current drinkers reported at least one episode of binge drinking in the past year.
Lead researcher Dr. Amy Fan from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), says most people who consume alcohol in the U.S. drink in ways that may increase their risk of metabolic syndrome as well as other related conditions.
For the study the researchers looked at data from the 1999-2002 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey on some 1,529 participants, aged 20 to 84 years, which included an interview, a physical examination and a blood test.
They restricted their analysis to current drinkers and measures of alcohol consumption included, usual quantity consumed, drinking frequency, and frequency of binge drinking.
Dr. Fan says as more than half of current drinkers in the study drank in excess of the guidelines and reported binge drinking, future prevention efforts should focus on reducing alcohol consumption to safer levels.
The researchers say few doctors screen their patients for alcohol use or are knowledgeable about guidelines that define low-risk or moderate drinking and public health messages should emphasize the potential cardiometabolic risk associated with drinking in excess and binge drinking.
The article "Patterns of Alcohol Consumption and the Metabolic Syndrome," will appear in the October issue of JCEM, a publication of The Endocrine Society.
For this study, Dr. Fan and other researchers evaluated data from 1,529 participants of the 1999-2002 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. They restricted their analysis to current drinkers (participants who consumed at least 12 alcoholic drinks in 12 months) aged 20 to 84 years. The survey included both an interview and a physical examination that included a blood test. Measures of alcohol consumption included usual quantity consumed, drinking frequency, and frequency of binge drinking.
"Since more than half of current drinkers in our study drank in excess of the Dietary Guidelines limits and reported binge drinking, prevention efforts should focus on reducing alcohol consumption to safer levels," said Dr. Fan. "Unfortunately, few physicians screen their patients about alcohol use or are knowledgeable about guidelines that define low-risk or moderate drinking."
Dr. Fan went on to say that public health messages should emphasize the potential cardiometabolic risk associated with drinking in excess of national guidelines and binge drinking.
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