A new study has found that young people who drink moderate or heavy amounts of alcohol may be more likely to have a stroke (stroke).
People in their 20s and 30s who drink moderate to heavy amounts of alcohol may be more likely to have a stroke as young adults than people who drink little or no alcohol, according to new research. The more years people reported drinking moderate or heavy alcohol, the greater the risk of stroke. The study was published online in Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology, according to SciTechDaily.
“The rate of stroke among young adults has increased in recent decades, and stroke in young adults causes death and severe disability,” said study author Eue-Keun Choi of Seoul National University in the Republic of Korea.
More than 3,000 people had a stroke during the study into the link between young people drinking alcohol and stroke
The study analyzed records from a Korean national health database for people in their 20s and 30s who had four annual health exams. They were followed for six years and asked about their alcohol consumption every year.
More than 1.5 million people were included in the study. A total of 3,153 had a stroke during the study.
People who drank moderately or heavily during two or more years of the study were about 20 percent more likely to have a stroke than people who drank little or no alcohol. Light drinkers were those who drank less than 105 grams per week or less than 15 grams per day.
Stroke, also determined by high blood pressure, smoking and an individual’s weight
As the number of years of moderate or heavy drinking increased, so did the risk of stroke. People with two years of moderate or heavy drinking had a 19% increased risk, people with three years had a 22% increased risk, and people with four years had a 23% increased risk. These results were obtained after the researchers took into account other factors that could affect the risk of stroke, such as high blood pressure, smoking and body mass index.
A limitation of the study was that only Koreans were included, so the results may not apply to people of other races and ethnicities. In addition, people filled out questionnaires about their alcohol consumption, so they may not have been remembering correctly.