Here is what UpToDate, an electronic reference for doctors and patients, has to say about the relationship between alcohol consumption and mortality in women:
"In an attempt to estimate the overall effect of alcohol in women, a prospective study was conducted among 85,709 middle-aged women (34 to 59 years) without a history of CVD [cardiovascular disease]. Over a 12-year follow-up period, the relative risk of death in drinkers compared with nondrinkers was as follows: 0.83 with one to three drinks per week; 0.88 with three to 18 drinks per week; 1.19 with greater than 18 drinks per week.
Light to moderate drinking was associated with a decreased risk of death from CVD; heavier drinking was associated with an increased mortality from other causes, particularly breast cancer and cirrhosis. The benefit associated with light to moderate drinking was most apparent among women with risk factors for CHD and those 50 years of age or older."
In other words, in a large, 12-year study, women who had one or two drinks per day had a lower risk of dying compared with non-drinkers. However, women who drank more than roughly two drinks a day had an increased risk of dying compared with non-drinkers.
The reduction in mortality in light to moderate drinkers came from reduced deaths from cardiovascular causes. The increase in mortality in women who drank more heavily was caused principally by an increased incidence of breast cancer and liver disease.
These results (a reduction in mortality with a little alcohol, but an increase in mortality with a little more alcohol) reflect the results seen in men.
Because alcohol is an addictive substance, and because it is very, very addictive in some people, it is easy to see why public health experts have chosen not to emphasize the apparent health benefits of drinking a little bit of alcohol in either men or women.
However, it remains the obligation of individual physicians to act for the benefit of their individual patients, not to society as a whole. Doctors commonly see women who are at increased risk for heart disease, and, for many of these women, information on the potential cardiac benefits of alcohol might be quite helpful. Unless there is a particular reason to discourage any alcohol consumption in an individual patient, doctors ought to feel obligated to discuss with their patients all their reasonable options for cardiac risk reduction -- even this one.
Want to learn more? See UpToDate's topic, "Risks and benefits of alcohol" for additional in-depth medical information.
Sources: Douglas, Pamela S, Poppas, Athena. "Determinants and management of cardiovascular risk in women" UpToDate. Accessed: March, 2011.
