The Nation - News from Aug. 3, 1988

Women who drink alcohol in moderation appear to have much less of a chance of suffering a heart attack or stroke than non-drinking women, according to a major new study. The study, the largest of its kind, found that middle-aged women who consumed an average of three to 17 drinks a week--a bottle of beer, glass of wine or mixed drink--had about a 40% lower risk of suffering a heart attack or stroke compared to women who did not drink at all. “Those who imbibe a little bit on a daily basis seem to have a benefit,” said Dr. Charles H. Hennekens, an associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston who headed the study, which will be published this week in the New England Journal of Medicine. Hennekens, his colleagues and other researchers stressed that alcohol abuse is a major health problem and the study does not suggest that women who do not drink should begin drinking.