Key result
Four weeks of alcohol abstinence did not significantly change peak oxygen consumption (39.66 vs 37.55 ml/kg/min, P=0.21) in healthy volunteers with moderate alcohol consumption.
Why the study?
The benefits or harms of moderate alcohol consumption on cardiorespiratory fitness were unclear, leading to the hypothesis that four weeks of abstinence could improve cardiorespiratory fitness in moderate drinkers.
Does four weeks of alcohol abstinence improve cardiorespiratory fitness in healthy volunteers who are moderate drinkers?
Cohort (n=22)
No
Does four weeks of alcohol abstinence improve cardiorespiratory fitness in healthy volunteers who are moderate drinkers?
Absolute Event Rate: 39.66% vs 37.55%
p-value: p=0.21
Four weeks of alcohol abstinence does not significantly alter cardiopulmonary fitness in healthy moderate drinkers.
Short-term abstinence should not alter fitness recommendations for moderate drinkers; leaves open longer-term effects or higher-risk groups.
The benefits or harm associated with moderate levels of alcohol consumption on cardiorespiratory fitness are unclear. We hypothesised that in moderate drinkers, four weeks of abstinence could improve cardiorespiratory fitness. This was a single centre, prospective, pre and post intervention, experimental cohort study. Participants were recruited from healthy volunteers among hospital staff, who were non-smokers, over 25 years of age and regularly consumed ≥3 units of alcohol a day, ≥4 times a week for > 1 month. Cardiopulmonary exercise test was used to provide objective, quantifiable and reproducible data. In all, 30 participated, and data were analysed for 22 participants. Mean (SD) peak oxygen consumption and oxygen consumption at anaerobic threshold were similar before and after alcohol abstinence: 37.55 (10.89) and 39.66 (11.48) (P = 0.21) and 18.52 (5.43) and 16.82 (5.19) ml/kg/min (P = 0.1), respectively. It is concluded that this preliminary study did not establish a correlation between four weeks alcohol abstinence and cardiopulmonary fitness as measured by cardiopulmonary exercise test, among healthy volunteers self-reporting moderate alcohol consumption.
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Raj et al. (2020) conducted a cohort in Moderate alcohol consumption (n=22). Alcohol abstinence vs. Pre-intervention baseline was evaluated on Peak oxygen consumption (ml/kg/min) (p=0.21). Four weeks of alcohol abstinence did not significantly change peak oxygen consumption (39.66 vs 37.55 ml/kg/min, P=0.21) in healthy volunteers with moderate alcohol consumption.
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