That, from an analysis of data from the San Antonio Heart Study.

Consuming the same amount of alcohol protected nondiabetics to a lesser extent, reducing mortality by 20%. The analysis also suggested that the type of alcoholic drink makes a difference.

Drinking a low to moderate amount of alcohol has been associated with protection against coronary heart disease in the general population. The protective effect of alcohol for diabetics has been studied previously only in select groups such as male physicians and the elderly, said Ms. Fowler of the departments of medicine and epidemiology at the University of Texas, San Antonio.

Researchers gathered baseline data on 3,788 Mexican American and European American men and women between 35 and 65 years old. The data included results of a 2-hour oral glucose tolerance test and the self-reported frequency of alcohol intake. Cox proportional hazard ratios were used to analyze the risk of mortality in 503 participants who met the World Health Organization's 1999 criteria for diabetes, compared with the mortality risk of nondiabetic participants. The data were adjusted for age, body mass index, smoking status, geographic location, gender, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status.

“The surprising finding was when we divided groups into those with and without diabetes, those with diabetes who consumed alcohol more than zero but under seven drinks per week were protected,” Ms. Fowler said.

After a mean follow-up of 14 years, light drinking was associated with a 35% reduction in the risk of all-cause mortality among diabetics, compared with abstainers. For light drinkers without diabetes, there was a 20% reduction in mortality, compared with abstainers. Diabetics who reported drinking a small amount more frequently—such as having a drink daily or almost daily—reaped the highest benefit (a 46% risk reduction) compared with diabetic abstainers. The protective effect of alcohol decreased in those who reported consuming more than 14 drinks per week.

Mortality information on 99% of the participants showed that of the 518 deaths, 173 were in diabetics. “We mainly saw a protective effect among those with diabetes,” she said.

Beer drinking did not reduce mortality significantly in any study group. Consumption of any amount of mixed drinks and/or liquor was mildly protective in diabetics (23% lower risk of mortality) but actually increased the risk in nondiabetics (38% greater risk). Diabetics who reported drinking any amount of wine had the greatest benefit—a 65% reduction in mortality, compared with no reduction in nondiabetic wine drinkers. The study did not assess protection by type of wine consumed.

“The striking thing to me is if you have diabetes, you have a staggeringly high mortality rate, about 40% at 14 years. If you drink wine, the mortality rate approaches that of nondiabetics,” Ms. Fowler said.

Source: Diabetes In Control Dot Com.

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