1. Moderate Drinking Benefits Kidney Transplant Recipients Modest Amounts of Alcohol Prevent Diabetes and Premature Death
Moderate alcohol consumption reduces one’s risk for diabetes and premature death in the general population.
To find if the same were true for stable kidney transplant recipients, Dorien Zelle (University Medical Center Groningen, the Netherlands) and her colleagues studied 600 renal transplant recipients who had their transplant more than one prior and followed them for several years post-transplant. Of these, 288 (48%) were abstainers, 94 (16%) sporadic drinkers, 210 (35%) had moderate alcohol intake, and 8 (1%) were heavy drinkers.
Moderate alcohol drinkers were 67% less likely to develop diabetes than other types of drinkers/nondrinkers. During an average follow-up of seven years, moderate alcohol drinkers were 44% less likely to die than other types of drinkers/nondrinkers.
The authors concluded that in contrast with common advice for kidney transplant recipients to refrain from drinking alcohol, drinking moderate amounts of alcohol appears to protect against diabetes and premature death in kidney transplant recipients, similar to the general population.
“Quality of life in renal transplant recipients is under pressure by many threats, restrictions, and recommendations,” said Ms. Zelle.
“Our results indicate that one of the restraints on quality of life in stable renal transplant recipients may be released. There seems no reason to advise renal transplant recipients to abstain from alcohol post-transplant.”
Source: American Society of Nephrology (ASN)