Even moderate alcohol use increases risk of high blood pressure, new meta-analysis confirms

Overall, the team’s analysis revealed a “positive and almost linear association” between alcohol consumption and hypertension. Risk ratios were 0.89 for individuals who drank no alcohol, 1.11 for those who drank at least 24 g/d, 1.22 for those who drank at least 36 g/d and 1.33 for those who drank at least 48 g/d. This was seen in both sexes, but women who drank smaller amounts of alcohol seemed to see their hypertension risk increase less than it did in men. In addition, hypertension risks appeared to rise more dramatically in white participants than they did in Black participants.

“Based on our analysis, a moderate to high usual intake of alcohol seems to be a risk factor for hypertension in both men and women, with a stepper slope in women,” the group wrote. “In contrast, at low levels of alcohol intake, an increased risk of hypertension may only apply in men.”

What, exactly, leads to this close relationship between alcohol use and hypertension? The authors presented some possible explanations.

“There is biological plausibility for the determinantal effect of alcohol on the risk of hypertension,” they wrote. “One potential mechanism for an alcohol effect on blood pressure and risk of hypertension is stimulation of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system with a resultant increase in angiotensin II and plasma cortisol levels. Additional possibilities are sympathetic nervous system stimulation due to increases in noradrenaline levels, decrease of baroreceptor sensitivity and an increase of intra-cellular calcium leading to blood vessel constriction. Hormonal factors might also explain the different associations between alcohol intake and the risk of hypertension in men and women, particularly at low levels of intake, given the relevance of ovarian hormones and of testosterone in blood pressure regulation.”

Click here to read the full analysis in Hypertension, an American Heart Association journal.