Protecting the heart may not protect the public health

doi:10.1136/bmj.332.7554.1392

BMJ 2006;332:1392 (10 June), doi:10.1136/bmj.332.7554.1392

Letter

Protecting the heart may not protect the public health

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

EDITOR—Britton raises the profile of what will continueto be an informed debate over the role of alcohol in protectingthe heart from vascular disease.¹ However, the picture is notcomplete and, as she points out, the media could take a ratherskewed view of the benefits of drinking.

In older people the harmful effects of alcohol may manifestthemselves in ways other than cardiac events. For example, 50%of older people with alcohol misuse present to secondary careservices with falls.² The cardioprotective message is also cloudedby the lack of any clear evidence that alcohol is beneficialto older people's health in general.

The prevalence of alcohol misuse in older people has risen steeplyin the UK over the past 20 years, by 50% in men and by 100%in women. Coupled with a projected rise in over 65s of 50% between2001 and 2031, there . . . [Full text of this article]

Rahul Rao, consultant in old age psychiatry

York Clinic, Guy's Hospital, London SE1 3RR tony.rao@kcl.ac.uk