College Drinking May Hurt Heart
Drinking heavily in college may make heart disease more
likely later in life, a preliminary study suggests.
The small study included 25 college-aged men and women who provided blood
samples and completed a survey about their drinking habits.
The survey shows that six students were nondrinkers, 10 were moderate
drinkers, and nine were heavy drinkers.
One drink equaled 12 ounces of beer, 5 ounces of wine, or 1.5 ounces of hard
liquor. Heavy drinking was defined as consuming three or more drinks at least
three days per week, or consuming five or more drinks in one sitting at least
two days per week.
The researchers included undergraduate student Elizabeth Donovan and
nutrition professor Amy Olson, PhD, RD, LD, of the College of Saint Benedict in
St. Joseph, Minn.
They measured the amount of C-reactive protein (CRP) in the participants'
blood samples.
CRP is an inflammatory chemical found in blood. Elevated CRP levels have
beenB associated with heart disease risk in other studies,
note Donovan and colleagues.
Participants' average CRP level was low, indicating a low risk for heart
disease. However, CRP levels were higher for heavy drinkers than for moderate
drinkers and nondrinkers, who had similar CRP levels.
"The take-home message is that if CRP levels are predictive of future
risk for cardiovascular disease, thenB college-aged individuals may be
beginning to follow this pattern, which is another reason to be concerned about
heavy drinking in college-aged individuals," Donovan tells WebMD.
Many factors -- including alcohol, medications, physical activity, and body
fat -- can affect CRP levels, note Donovan and colleagues.
Their findings will be presented today in Chicago, at the American Heart
Association's 8th Annual Conference on Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and
Vascular Biology.
Because the study was small, further research is needed on college drinking,
CRP, and heart disease risk, notes the American Heart Association in a news
release.
By Miranda Hitti
Reviewed by Louise Chang
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