Drinking alcohol may lower chronic kidney disease (CKD) risk, according to a study from John Hopkins University in Baltimore.
Published in the Journal of Renal Nutrition, the study “Alcohol Consumption and Incident Kidney Disease: Results From the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study” found a link between moderate alcohol consumption and a lower chance of developing chronic kidney disease (CKD).
Researchers examined data on more than 12,600 participants, a mix of black and white men and women ages 45 to 64. Their eating habits and alcohol consumption were monitored for 24 years
Out of these participants, 3,664 of the participants of them developed CKD. Meanwhile, those who consumed less than or equal to 1 drink per week had a 12 percent lower risk of developing CKD.
Individuals who recorded two to seven drinks per week manifested a 20 percent lower risk. Those who drank 15 times or more per week logged a 23 percent lower risk. Moreover, participants who had a moderate eight to 14 drinks per week experienced the biggest risk reduction in CKD, a 29 percent lesser risk of CKD than those who never drank.
"There are limitations in our study that must be acknowledged. First, alcohol consumption was self-reported, which is subject to reporting bias and may have been underreported," the authors write.
"A strength of our study was the large community-based population with a relatively large number of kidney events and therefore enough power to detect significant associations. Our population includes both men and women and blacks and whites, allowing generalizability to other populations. Our study also had a lengthy follow-up time, with a median of 24 years, which is longer than previous studies."
As their conclusion suggests, consuming one to two drinks per day may not appear to be harmful to kidney health. However, they emphasize that their findings should not be used as a reason to habitually drink alcohol. They also assume that the effect of alcohol on reducing the risk of CKD is similar to how it reduces the risk of coronary heart disease based on past research.
