Heavy Drinking in College May Harm Heart

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Using AHA standards for assessing CRP-associated risk, Donovan and Olson defined low risk for cardiovascular disease as having less than one milligram of CRP per liter of blood. A CRP level of between one and three milligrams was interpreted as bearing moderate risk, while anything above three milligrams was equated with high risk.

The researchers then asked 25 college-age men and women to complete surveys concerning their drinking habits, smoking habits, medication use, and recent weight loss -- behaviors which can affect CRP levels.

The students were then categorized into one of three groups: non-drinkers (consumed one or less drinks per week); moderate drinkers, (two to five drinks a day over the course of one or two days per week); and heavy drinkers, (three or more drinks a day, at least three days a week). Heavy drinkers also included people who binge-drank, consuming five or more drinks at one time, at least two or more days per week.

Blood tests revealed that, overall, the students were at low risk of heart disease, with an average CRP of 0.9 milligrams per liter of blood.

However, heavy drinkers had a CRP average of 1.25 mg, suggesting they were at moderate risk for future heart disease.

On the other end of the scale, moderate drinkers fell into the low-risk group, with CRP averaging just 0.58 milligrams/liter.

Infrequent drinkers and non-drinkers were in the middle, with an average CRP of 0.85 milligrams/liter.

Overweight male students and male and female students with a family history of heart disease had higher CRP readings. Students who ate relatively high levels of fruits and vegetables had lower CRP levels than those who did not, the researchers found.

Donovan's team emphasized that any link between heavy drinking in youth and long-range cardiovascular risk needs further corroboration.

"I don't think this study is enough to say for sure whether cardiovascular disease risk goes up for young people who drink heavily," Donovan cautioned. She noted that the relatively small study did not track student health over a long period of time but rather relied exclusively on a self-report of current drinking habits.