Frequent Drinkers See Lower Diabetes Risk Danish cohort study finds markedly lower rates of new-onset diabetes

The authors emphasized that both the amount of weekly consumption and the frequency of consumption are important patterns when considering associated risk. However, there was no significant relationship reported in regard to the frequency of binge drinking. Men who regularly consumed wine (≥7 drinks/week) also reported a 30% decreased diabetes risk compared with men who drank less than one glass of wine per week, whereas for women, frequent spirit consumption was tied to a higher risk for diabetes (≥7 drinks/week versus <1 drinks/week; HR 1.83, 95% CI 1.29-2.58). The findings were also unchanged in a sensitivity analysis, which excluded participants who had either reduced or increased their level of alcohol consumption within the previous 5 years. Ronald Tamler, MD, PhD, medical director of the Clinical Diabetes Institute at Mount Sinai Health System in New York City, who was not involved with the study, advised in a statement that people should not pick up a drinking habit simply to stave off diabetes risk. Additionally, he advocated for moderation -- up to one drink per day for women and two a day for men -- and cautioned against binge drinking, which can carry very serious health implications. "This study focuses on people developing a new diagnosis of diabetes. Once somebody has diabetes, different forms of alcohol can have very different effects: Beer may increase blood sugar levels (carbs!) while hard liquor may lead to dangerously low glucose levels," Tamler added. https://www.medpagetoday.com/Endocrinology/Diabetes/66969?xid=nl_mpt_DHE_2017-08-01&eun=g721819d0r&pos=3