03 Apr Moderate Alcohol Consumption Reduces Risk of Diabetes by 28%
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Dr. Ken C. Chiu
Ken C. Chiu, MD, FACE, FACP
Professor
Endocrinology Fellowship Training Program
Department of Clinical Diabetes, Endocrinology, and Metabolism
Diabetes and Metabolism Research Institute
City of Hope National Medical Center
Duarte, CA 91010-3000
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Dr. Chiu: The benefit of moderate alcohol consumption is well established in cardiovascular disease. However, the role of alcohol consumption in type 2 diabetes is less clear. We examined the role of alcohol consumption in type 2 diabetes using the data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2005-1012, which is a representative US population. In the rare alcohol consumption group (< 12 drinks per year), 24.04% were diabetic while only 14.67% were diabetic in the moderate alcohol consumption (1-4 drinks per day) group (P><0.000001). In contrast, 21.05% were diabetic in the heavy alcohol consumption (≥ 5 drinks/day) group (P=0.003) when compared to the rare alcohol consumption group. Thus, in compared to the rare alcohol consumption, moderate alcohol consumption was associated with a lower risk of diabetes (OR: 0.72; 95%CI: 0.65-0.79) after adjustment for co-variates, while there was no benefit from heavy alcohol consumption (OR: 0.97; 95%CI: 0.90-1.05). Our study demonstrates that moderate alcohol consumption reduces the risk of diabetes by 28%.
MedicalResearch.com: What should clinicians and patients take away from your report?
Dr. Chiu: Our finding extends the known benefit of moderate alcohol consumption on cardiovascular heath to type 2 diabetes reduction. Our results confirmed that moderate alcohol consumption is associated with a lower risk of diabetes, HbA1c, fasting plasma glucose, and 2-hour post-challenged plasma glucose concentration in the non-diabetic subjects when compared to those do not consume alcohol or consume alcohol rarely. Moderate alcohol consumption is beneficial for diabetes prevention and glucose metabolism in non-diabetic subjects.
MedicalResearch.com: What recommendations do you have for future research as a result of this study?
Dr. Chiu: Alcohol will inhibit gluconeogenesis. Thus, we observed reduced HbA1c, fasting plasma glucose, and 2-hour post-challenged plasma glucose concentration in subjects with moderate alcohol consumption. However, the exact molecular mechanism is completely understood at this moment. Further studies are required to identify the underlying molecular mechanism of this observation. Furthermore, types of alcoholic beverage could also have different effect on glucose metabolism, which remain to be elucidated.
MedicalResearch.com: Is there anything else you would like to add?
Dr. Chiu: Although our study demonstrated the risk of diabetes is reduced with moderate alcohol consumption, this could only apply to the non-diabetic subjects. Our results cannot be applied to the patients with diabetes. The role of alcohol consumption in diabetic patients remains to be answered. As the standard recommendation, adults with diabetes who drink alcohol should do so in moderation (no more than one drink per day for adult women and no more than two drinks per day for adult men).
MedicalResearch.com: Thank you for your contribution to the MedicalResearch.com community.
Citation:
Tatiana Sams, MD, Rudruidee Karnchanasorn, MD, Wei Feng, MD, Raynald Samoa, MD, Ken C. Chiu, MD: Alcohol Consumption and the Risk of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus. 2016 Endocrine Society’s 98th Annual Meeting and Expo, Boston, MA (Endo 2016 Poster: SAT-662)
[wysija_form id=”5″]
Note: Content is Not intended as medical advice. Please consult your health care provider regarding your specific medical condition and questions.
More Medical Research Interviews on MedicalResearch.com
Ken C. Chiu, MD, FACE, FACP (2016). Moderate Alcohol Consumption Reduces Risk of Diabetes by 28% MedicalResearch.com
Last Updated on April 3, 2016 by Marie Benz MD FAAD