A new study suggests that moderate drinking of alcoholic beverages can help reduce the risk of developing heart disease in people with type 2 diabetes whose arteries are blocked. It is estimated that up to 80% of people with diabetes die from heart disease.

Researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health studied more than 2,400 men participating in the Health Professionals' Follow-Up Study who had been diagnosed with diabetes at age 30 or older. In this group, moderate alcohol use was associated with a lower risk of heart disease. This relationship held even after the researchers adjusted for obesity, smoking, high blood pressure, and other risk factors. Still, the difference in heart disease could be related to other factors not studied.

No one should take up drinking because of this study. However, the researchers concluded that light-to-moderate drinking with meals could be "an attractive and beneficial lifestyle component for the patient with diabetes."

Related information: Hypertension & alcohol | Diabetes & alcohol

Sources:  American College of Cardiology. Highlights from the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, Nov. 30, 2001.