Soltalk October 2017 | Page 40

HealthTalk
Doctor’s notes
Dr Rik Heymans is a general practitioner in Nerja and writes on developments in the world of medicine
Exercise & Alcohol
association between alcohol drinking and all-cause mortality
was observed, with ex-drinkers and drinkers at harmful levels
showing a clearly higher risk of all-cause mortality, compared
with never drinkers. A dose–response link also emerged
between weekly alcohol consumption and cancer mortality
specifically, the authors state, noting that the evidence of an
association between alcohol and cardiovascular disease was
weak.
Exercise may offset the increased risk for death associated with
consuming large amounts of alcohol, new data suggest. In an
analysis of data from eight British population-based surveys,
the association between alcohol intake and all-cause mortality
risk was reduced among individuals who met or exceeded
minimum weekly physical activity recommendations.
Specifically, the excess risk for cancer mortality tied to alcohol
intake was nearly nullified among regular exercisers. The study
is one of the first to examine whether an association exists
between the health benefits of physical activity and the
increased mortality risk associated with alcohol consumption.
When the population was stratified by activity level, the risk
for cancer death was elevated in a dose-dependent manner
with alcohol consumption among those who did not achieve
minimum recommended activity levels. The same overall
pattern of increased mortality was seen in those with higher
activity levels, but the relative increase in risk was less.
Occasional drinking appeared to confer a protective effect
against all-cause and cardiovascular disease–related mortality
among adults who met recommended activity levels, according
to the authors.
Of the full study population of more than 36,000 patients,
4845 (13.3%) exceeded recommended weekly alcohol limits (14
units for women; 21 units for men). The average alcohol intake
among those who reported having had a drink during the
previous week was slightly higher than six units. Across the
study population, more than a quarter of the participants
(27.5%) reported no physical activity, defined as walking for any
purpose and formal exercise, whereas 39.1% achieved the lower
level of recommended weekly physical activity, and 23.3%
achieved the upper level of the national recommendation.
Walking to the nearby off licence would not be considered
enough physical exercise to lessen the risk…
© Dr RIK HEYMANS
c/ Angustias 24, Nerja.
Tel: [phone]
Looking at the link between alcohol consumption and
mortality in both partially and fully adjusted models, a direct
38