Drinking Wine May Reduce the Risk of Barrett's Esophagus

In a new study published in the March issue of Gastroenterology by the Kaiser Permanente Division of Research, findings may indicate that in drinking one glass of wine a day may lower the risk of Barrett's esophagus by 58%. Barrett's esophagus is a precursor to esophageal cancer, the nation's fastest-growing cancer with an incident rate that's jumped to 500% in the last 30 years.

This study examined the connection between alcohol consumption and risk of Barrett's esophagus. This study looked at 953 men and women in Northern California between the years of 2002 and 2005, and found that people who drank one or more classes of red or white wine each day had less than half the risk (56% reduced risk) of Barrett's esophagus. There was no reduction in of Barrett's esophagus risk among people who drank beer or liquor.

Two other studies, also published in the same issue of the Gastroenterology journal, produced similar findings. Australian researchers found that people who drink wine were at were risk of esophageal cancer, and Irish researchers found that people who drank wine were at a lower risk for esophagitis. Esophagitis often precedes Barrett's esophagus. While researchers have seen that drinking wine can reduce risk of developing Barrett's esophagus, they are still not certain why wine does so. They do have some theories, though. One theory is that the wine's antioxidants neutralize the oxidative damage caused by gastroesophageal reflux disease, a risk factor for Barrett's esophagus. Another theory is that wine drinkers typically consume food with their wine as opposed to drinking straight liquor without food, therefore reducing the potentially damaging effect of alcohol on esophageal tissue.

Dr.Ai Kubo, an epidemiologist at Kaiser Permanente and lead author on the study, cautioned, "We cannot preclude the possibility that wine drinking is a proxy for other health seeking behavior." Other researchers noted that the protective effect of wine in terms of preventing Barrett's esophagus was greatest when drinking just one or two classes of wine a day. They stated that the protective effect of wine did not increase with higher consumption.

It needs to be noted, however, in fact the consumption of alcohol can increase the chances of acid reflux because alcohol can relax the lower esophageal sphincter (LES), and increase the production of stomach acid.

While the information in this study is important, further research is needed on whether the benefits of drinking wine to lower the risk of Barrett's esophagus outweighs the risk of increasing acid reflux. I, for one, look forward to hearing more news on this matter.