Moderate Intake of Wine Associated With A Lower Risk Of Mortality From All Cause

Moderate wine drinkers with systolic blood pressure (SBP) of 158, 139, or 116 mm Hg had significantly lower risks of death from all causes by 23%, 27%, and 37%.

Since for a given blood pressure, the risk of death from coronary artery disease is much higher in northern Europe and the United States than in Mediterranean countries, French researchers carried out a prospective cohort study in which they tested the hypothesis that regular wine drinking reduces the hypertension-related risk of death. They used data from 36 583 healthy middle-aged men who had normal results on an electrocardiogram and were not taking drugs for cardiovascular disease risk factors. The subjects underwent a comprehensive health appraisal at the Center for Preventive Medicine between 1978 1985. Mortality from all causes and from specific causes during a 13-21-year follow-up was recorded.

They found, moderate wine drinkers (those who consumed <60 g alcohol/day and no beer) with systolic blood pressure (SBP) of 158, 139, or 116 mm Hg had significantly lower risks of death from all causes by 23%, 27%, and 37%, respectively, than did abstainers. Even for the highest quartile of blood pressure, moderate wine drinkers were protected from all-cause mortality.

The researchers concluded: “A moderate intake of wine is associated with a lower risk of mortality from all causes in persons with hypertension.”

American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol. 80, No. 3, 621-625, September 2004