Between July 1993 and June 1997, Ralph L. Sacco, MD, MS, and colleagues from Columbia University in New York, observed more than 1,800 ethnically and racially diverse people, age 40 and older, in the Northern Manhattan Stroke Study.

The researchers matched 677 participants who had their first ischemic stroke to a control group of 1,139 participants. The mean age of the participants was 70 years, and 55. 8 percent were women.

"The protective effect of moderate alcohol consumption persisted after adjusting for other stroke risk factors and was found in younger and older participants, men and women, and in whites, blacks, and Hispanics, wrote the researchers. "In addition, we found that heavy alcohol consumption—seven or more drinks per day—was associated with an increased risk of ischemic stroke."

"The study was informative in that it included a broader range of racial and ethnic groups than did previous studies of alcohol consumption and stroke. It found similar findings across the racial and ethnic groups," said Michael Thun, MD, vice president for epidemiology and surveillance research for the American Cancer Society.

This is the first study to look at the link between alcohol and stroke as it relates to race or ethnicity, especially in the Hispanic population.

"There is now extensive evidence that regular, moderate alcohol consumption can reduce heart disease and stroke death rates in middle aged- and elderly adults. The largest absolute benefit is in people who are at the highest risk of these conditions," said Dr. Thun. He added there are, however, some difficulties in recommending alcohol as a medication:

• It is licensed as a beverage, not a drug, and would never be approved by the US Food and Drug Administration as a drug because of its intoxicant properties
  
• Some people cannot or do not restrict themselves to "moderate" drinking (which the federal government defines as not exceeding one drink per day for women and two per day for men)
  
• There are no clear health benefits of alcohol consumption for adolescents and young adults;
  
• Certain people should not drink at all, including pregnant women, people taking medication that contraindicates alcohol consumption, and people with liver disease
  
• Even one drink a day appears to increase a woman's risk of breast cancer
  
• There are other ways to reduce the risk of stroke and heart disease, such as exercise, eating healthy, and for some people, taking medications to control high cholesterol levels.

The ACS nutrition guidelines recommend limiting consumption of alcoholic beverages, if you drink at all. A drink is considered 12 ounces of regular beer, five ounces of wine, and 1? ounces of 80-proof distilled spirits.