Beneficial Effects of Ethanol Consumption on Insulin Resistance Are Only Applicable to Subjects Without Obesity or Insulin Resistance; Drinking is not Necessarily a Remedy for Metabolic Syndrome

Abstract

Although moderate drinking has been shown to lower insulin resistance levels, it is still unclear whether alcoholic beverages could be remedies for insulin resistance. To elucidate this, the correlation between levels of ethanol consumption and insulin resistance were cross-sectionally examined in 371 non-diabetic male Japanese workers. Multiple regression analysis demonstrated that the ethanol consumption level was inversely correlated with the insulin resistance level assessed by homeostatic model assessment (HOMA-IR, p = 0.0014), the serum insulin level (p = 0.0007), and pancreatic β-cell function, also assessed by HOMA (HOMA-β, p = 0.0002), independently from age, body mass index (BMI), and blood pressure, liver function tests, and lipid profiles status, as well as serum adiponectin. The correlations were true in subjects with normal BMIs (up to 25.0 kg/m2, n = 301) or normal HOMA-IR (up to 2.0 μIU·mg/μL·dL n = 337), whereas all of them were non-significant in those with excessive BMIs (n = 70) or in those with HOMA-IR of more than 2.0 (n = 34). Although it is still unclear whether the reductions of these parameters by ethanol consumption are truly due to the improvement of insulin resistance, at least, these effects are not applicable to subjects with obesity and/or insulin resistance. Thus, alcoholic beverages could not be remedies for insulin resistance or metabolic syndrome.

Alcohol Use Behaviors, Fat Intake and the Function of Pancreatic β-Cells in Non-Obese, Healthy Korean Males: Findings from 2010 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey

“…It was also reported that alcohol reduces insulin production of β-cell and aggravates endoplasmic reticulum stress by inhibiting muscarinic signaling and protein kinase C, which results in insulin secretion dysfunction [34]. Consistent with the previous findings [31,32], our results showed that the more AUDIT score increased, the more HOMA-B score decreased, indicating that excessive alcohol intake is related to dysfunction of insulin secretion. Our results are distinct from the earlier reports in that AUDIT score was used in order to comprehensively evaluate the alcohol-related problem behavior in addition to the amount and frequency of alcohol intake.…”

“…Several studies have reported that alcohol consumption influences β-cell function [21,30,31,32]. High amounts of alcohol consumption are associated with a decrease in HOMA-B score function in both males [30] and females [21].…”

“…High amounts of alcohol consumption are associated with a decrease in HOMA-B score function in both males [30] and females [21]. Recent studies in the Japanese [31] and Chinese [32] also demonstrated that the level of ethanol consumption was inversely correlated with HOMA-B score, independent of age, body mass and liver function tests. The mechanism explaining the association between alcohol consumption and β-cell function remains elusive; it may be that chronic ethanol intake inactivates glucokinase by downregulating glucokinase and tyrosine nitration, resulting in pancreatic β-cell apoptosis [33].…”

Moderate alcohol use and health: A consensus document

“…[83]. An inverse relation between moderate alcohol consumption and insulin resistance has been reported in normalweight subjects, but not in overweight/obese patients with a Homeostasis Model of Assessment (HOMA) index <2 [84].…”

The Relation of Light-to-Moderate Alcohol Consumption to Glucose Metabolism and Insulin Resistance in Nondiabetic Adults: the Moderating Effects of Depressive Symptom Severity, Adiposity, and Sex

“…Although null findings have been reported [13], evidence has also suggested that, in combination with sex, adiposity moderates the relation of alcohol consumption to metabolic factors. For example, adiposity, as measured by BMI, moderated the relation of alcohol consumption to IR and fasting insulin with moderate alcohol consumption associated with lower IR and fasting insulin in men with normal BMIs (<25 kg/m 2 ), but not those with BMIs greater than or equal to 25 kg/m [14]. In women, however, a different pattern has been observed.…”