According to new research, binge drinking in Belfast, Northern Ireland may be the reason for the country’s high rates of heart disease. The study found that the amount of alcohol consumed over a week in France and Northern Ireland is almost identical, but in Belfast, alcohol is consumed over a one to two day period rather than over a longer period in France.
The connection between alcohol consumption, heart disease and premature death has been established. What is unclear, according to the new study, is the role of the drinking patterns and the type of alcohol consumed. Over a ten year period the study evaluated 9,758 men from Lille, Strasbourg and Toulouse and Belfast. The men were free from heart disease when the research started in 1991.
The results of the study indicated that the men who engaged in binge drinking had almost twice the risk of heart disease or dying from heart disease than regular drinkers. One possible reason for the higher risk of heart disease in Belfast could be more people drink beer and spirits than wine. In France, the cultural norm is that more people drink wine. Research has found that drinking wine, particularly red wine, protects people against the incidence of heart disease.
