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(HealthDay News) – Young binge drinkers have alterations in the macrocirculation and microcirculation compared with age-matched abstainers, according to a study published online May 1 in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
Melissa Goslawski, from the University of Illinois at Chicago, and colleagues compared macrovascular and microvascular endothelial function and cardiovascular disease risk factors for young binge drinkers and age-matched alcohol abstainers. Data were collected for 17 abstainers and 19 binge drinkers, aged 18–25 years.
The researchers found that for binge drinkers the brachial artery endothelial-dependent flow mediated vasodilation and flow independent nitroglycerin-mediated dilation were significantly lower, compared with abstainers. There was no significant difference between the groups in acetylcholine- and sodium nitroprusside-induced dilation in resistance arteries. In the binge-drinking group, endothelin-1-induced constriction was significantly enhanced. Blood pressure, lipoproteins, and C-reactive protein were not significantly different between the groups.
“Alterations in the macrocirculation and microcirculation may represent early clinical manifestations of cardiovascular risk in otherwise healthy young binge drinkers,” the authors write. “This study has important clinical implications for screening young adults for a repeated history of binge drinking.”
