Take care of the arteries from a young age
According to a study on smoking and alcohol consumption among adolescents, the presence of both of these bad habits increases the risk of vascular problems by two times compared to each of them separately.
The study involved 1,266 teenagers who told how often and a lot they drank at the age of 13, 15 and 17, as well as how many cigarettes they smoked. Based on this information, the subjects were divided into three groups for each trait, and then the rigidity of their arteries was assessed by measuring the pulse wave propagation velocity between the femoral and carotid arteries.
Depending on the number of cigarettes smoked, there were few smokers (up to 20 cigarettes), average smokers (20-99 cigarettes) and many smokers – 100 or more cigarettes (not per day or week, but only for a lifetime or at least for the last 5 years). The rigidity of the vessels of many (!) smokers turned out to be 3.7% more than among few smokers.
The authors of the work did not study the effect on blood vessels and other health indicators of seriously smoking and drinking junos and deushkas - perhaps this will be the subject of further research.
To distribute the subjects into groups depending on the intensity of alcohol consumption, they were asked how many alcoholic beverages they drink on average at a time, while one "drink" was equated to 8 grams of alcohol. Those who drink 1-2 were classified as low drinkers, those who drink 3-9 – as average drinkers, and those who drink 10 or more – as heavy drinkers. In the latter, a lot of drinking group, there was an increase in arterial rigidity by 4.7% compared with low-drinking subjects.
When comparing at the same time a lot of drinkers and a lot of smokers with low drinkers who have never smoked, it turned out that the arteries of the former are 10.8% less elastic than those leading a healthier lifestyle.
Thus, simultaneous alcohol consumption and smoking have a doubly negative impact on the arteries.
In addition to these disappointing data, scientists also found that in the case of abstinence from alcohol and smoking, the elasticity of the arteries is restored fairly quickly, which suggests the possibility of maintaining vascular health from an early age.
Article by Munzel et al. Double hazard of smoking and alcohol on vascular function in adolescents in European Heart Journal.
Anastasia Poznyak, portal "Eternal Youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru /