Article: Few drinks weekly might help lower women's blood pressure; Risk factors: Too much alcohol could have the opposite effect

CHICAGO (AP) - Women who down a few alcoholic drinks per week face an almost 15 percent lower chance of developing high blood pressure than teetotalers, new research shows.

The study also found that consuming more than about 11/2 drinks daily increases the high blood-pressure risk by 30 percent compared with nondrinkers. The increased risk was associated equally with wine, beer and hard liquor.

The reduced risk in light drinkers appeared strongest with beer, though more research is needed to clarify whether the alcohol type really makes a difference, said the authors, led by Dr. Ravi Thadhani of Harvard University Medical School.

The findings are based on 70,891 people ages 25 to 42 who ...

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