Abstract 15939: Neither Moderate Consumption of Sugarcane Liquor (“Cachaca”) Nor of Red Wine Affect Cardiovascular Risk Biomarkers in Healthy Individuals

Abstract

Introduction: It is well established that moderate consumption of red wine is associated with reduced risk of cardiovascular (CV) events. Many observational studies have shown that this same benefit could be seen with other alcohol beverages different from wine. However, the correlation between the Brazilian sugarcane liquor (“cachaca”) and CV benefit has not been demonstrated in human trials. Hypothesis: Cachaca causes changes in biomarkers of CV risk in the same proportion as wine. Methods: In this crossover randomized study, healthy individuals were initially designated to have daily moderate alcohol consumption (MAC) of either cachaca or red wine for a period of 4 weeks. MAC, for both drinks, was denoted as a daily dose equivalent of 28g of alcohol for men and 14g for women. Then, after an abstinence period of 7 days, drink types were switched for more 4 weeks. Analysis of CV risk biomarkers were determined before and after each intervention, and consisted of C-reactive protein, lipid profile, platelet aggregability and glycid profile. (This research was funded by FAPESP 2018/09675-4). Results: Of the 37 individuals originally enrolled, 2 refused to continue the study. The average age of the individuals was 41.7 (±15.3 years) and 43.2% were men. Adherence to the protocol was considered essentially ideal, with 100% of regular use in both interventions and only 3 individuals reporting abuse during the study period. There was no significant variation in anthropometric measurements during the study, except for a weight gain (0.6kg) with red wine (p = 0.011). As seen in the table, no significant changes were noted in the inflammatory markers, lipid profile, platelet aggregability nor glycid profile before and after each intervention. Conclusions: This study shows that in healthy individuals, neither red wine nor cachaca changed CV biomarkers related to atherosclerotic progression after 4 weeks of MAC. However, there was a marked weight gain with daily wine consumption.