The study aimed to assess whether young binge drinkers have impaired macrovascular and microvascular function and cardiovascular (CV) disease risk factors compared to age-matched alcohol abstainers.
Binge drinking rates are highest on college campuses and among 18- to 25-year-olds; however, macrovascular and microvascular endothelial function in young adults with a history of repeated binge drinking (≥5 standard drinks in 2 hrs. in men; ≥4 standard drinks in 2 hrs. in women) has not been investigated
We evaluated the cardiovascular profile, brachial artery endothelial-dependent flow mediated vasodilation (FMD), and flow independent nitroglycerin (NTG)-mediated dilation and vasoreactivity of resistance arteries (isolated from gluteal fat biopsies) in abstainers and binge drinkers.
Men and women (18-25 years of age, abstainers [A] n = 17, binge drinkers [BD] n = 19) were enrolled. Among the BD group, past-month average number of binge episodes was 6 ± 1, and average duration of binge drinking behavior was 4 ± 0.6 years. FMD and NTG-mediated dilations were significantly lower in the BD (FMD: 8.4% ± 0.7, P = 0.022; NTG: 19.6% ± 2, P = 0.009) than the A group (FMD: 11 ± 0.7%; NTG: 28.6 ± 2%). ACh- and SNP-induced dilation in resistance arteries was not significantly different between the A and BD groups. However, ET-1-induced constriction was significantly enhanced in the BD group compared to the A group (P = 0.032). No differences between groups were found in blood pressure, lipoproteins, and C-reactive protein.
Alterations in the macrocirculation and microcirculation may represent early clinical manifestations of CV risk in otherwise healthy young binge drinkers. This study has important clinical implications for screening young adults for a repeated history of binge drinking.
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