Drinking more than two alcoholic drinks daily in middle-age may raise your stroke  risk more than traditional factors such as high blood pressure and diabetes , according to new research in the American Heart Association journal Stroke. In a study of 11,644 middle-aged Swedish twins who were followed for 43 years, researchers compared the effects of an average of more than two drinks daily ("heavy drinking") to less than half a drink daily ("light drinking"). The study showed that: *Heavy drinkers had about a 34 percent higher risk of stroke compared to light drinkers. *Mid-life heavy drinkers (in their 50s and 60s) were likely to have a stroke five years earlier in life _ of genetic and early-life factors. *Heavy drinkers had increased stroke risk in their mid-life compared to well-known risk factors like high blood pressure and diabetes. *At around age 75, blood pressure and diabetes appeared to take over as one of the main influences on having a stroke. Past studies have shown that alcohol affects stroke risk, but this is the first study to pinpoint differences with age. "We now have a clearer picture about these risk factors----how they change with age and how the influence of drinking alcohol shifts as we get older," said Pavla Kadlecova, M.Sc., a statistician at St. Anne's University Hospital's International Clinical Research Center in the Czech Republic. Researchers analyzed results from the Swedish Twin Registry of same-sex twins who answered questionnaires in 1967-1970. All twins were under age 60 at the start. By 2010, the Registry had provided 43 years of follow-up, including hospital discharge  and cause of death data. Researchers then sorted  the data based on strokes, high blood pressure, diabetes and other cardiovascular  incidents. Almost 30 percent of participants had a stroke. They were categorized(......) as light, moderate, heavy or non-drinkers based on the questionnaires. Researchers compared the risk from drinking and health risks like high blood pressure, diabetes and smoking. Among identical twin pairs, siblings  who had a stroke drank more than their siblings who hadn't had a stroke, suggesting that mid-life drinking raises stroke risks regardless of genetics and early lifestyle. The study is consistent  with the American Heart Association's recommended limit of two drinks a day for men and one for women. That's about 8 ounces of wine for a man and 4 ounces for a woman. Regular heavy drinking of any kind of alcohol can raise blood pressure and cause heart failure or irregular heartbeats over time, in addition to stroke and other risks. "For mid-aged adults, avoiding more than two drinks a day could be a way to prevent stroke in later productive age ," Kadlecova said. Who might be the target readers of the passage?
People who have suffered a stroke People who like drinking People who have high blood pressure People who have twin siblings