New study findings published in Stroke - a journal of the American Heart Association (AHA) reveals that drinking more than two alcoholic beverages daily in middle-age may raise your stroke risk more than traditional factors such as high blood pressure and diabetes. Pavla Kadlecová, (a statistician at St. Anne's University Hospital's International Clinical Research Centre in the Czech Republic) and her colleagues analyzed 11,644 same-sex twins from the Swedish Twin Registry. Between 1967 and 1970 - when the participants were under the age of 60 - they completed dietary questionnaires, from which researchers could gather information on their alcohol consumption.

The twins were followed for around 43 years, until 2010. The researchers analyzed their health data over this period, including hospital discharge information and details on causes of death, as well as information on blood pressure, smoking and diabetes, among other health risks.

The study results showed that:

• Heavy drinkers had about a 34 percent higher risk of stroke compared to light drinkers.
• Mid-life heavy drinkers (in their 50s and 60s) were likely to have a stroke five years earlier in life irrespective of genetic and early-life factors.
• Heavy drinkers had increased stroke risk in their mid-life compared to well-known risk factors like high blood pressure and diabetes.
• At around age 75, blood pressure and diabetes appeared to take over as one of the main influences on having a stroke.

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