Drinking one pint a day has been linked to reduced risk of developing several serious heart conditions in new large-scale study.

Moderate drinking, usually defined as no more than 14 units of alcohol a week – equivalent to around one and a half bottles of wine or seven pints of regular-strength lager – is associated with a lower risk of developing some, but not all, cardiovascular diseases, said scientists.

Researchers at the University of Cambridge and University College London analysed electronic health records for nearly two million healthy UK adults.

They found moderate drinkers were less likely than teetotallers and heavy drinkers to see a doctor for seven conditions including heart attacks and strokes caused by blood clots.

Steven Bell, who led the research, told The Independent there could be a number of possible explanations for the findings.

“In terms of biology, people who drink in moderation tend to have lower levels of inflammation, or higher levels of good cholesterol,” he said.

“But some people would say these people just tend to be more healthy and socially engaged, and that’s leading to lower levels of different types of heart disease than the drinking itself.”

The research, published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ), adds to already existing evidence that drinking alcohol within recommended limits may reduce the risk of developing heart disease.

Dr Bell said the study of 1.93 million adults was “larger than all previous studies when pooled together”.

The worst jobs for your health Show all 10 1 /10 The worst jobs for your health The worst jobs for your health 10. Surgical and medical assistants, technologists, and technicians Overall unhealthiness score: 57.3 What they do: Assist in operations, under the supervision of surgeons, registered nurses, or other surgical personnel and perform medical laboratory tests. Top three health risks: 1. Exposure to disease and infections: 88 2. Exposure to contaminants: 80 3. Exposure to hazardous conditions: 69 The worst jobs for your health 9. Stationary engineers and boiler operators Overall unhealthiness score: 57.7 What they do: Operate or maintain stationary engines, boilers, or other mechanical equipment to provide utilities for buildings or industrial processes. Top three health risks: 1. Exposure to contaminants: 99 2. Exposure to hazardous conditions: 89 3. Exposure to minor burns, cuts, bites, or stings: 84 The worst jobs for your health 8. Water and wastewater treatment plant and system operators Overall unhealthiness score: 58.2 What they do: Operate or control an entire process or system of machines, often through the use of control boards, to transfer or treat water or wastewater. Top three health risks: 1. Exposure to contaminants: 97 2. Exposure to hazardous conditions: 80 3. Exposure to minor burns, cuts, bites, or stings: 74 The worst jobs for your health 7. Histotechnologists and histologic technicians Overall unhealthiness score: 59.0 What they do: Prepare histologic slides from tissue sections for microscopic examination and diagnosis by pathologists. Top three health risks: 1. Exposure to hazardous conditions: 88 2. Exposure to contaminants: 76 3. Exposure to disease and infections: 75 The worst jobs for your health 6. Immigration and customs inspectors Overall unhealthiness score: 59.3 What they do: Investigate and inspect people, common carriers, goods, and merchandise, arriving in or departing from the US or between states to detect violations of immigration and customs laws and regulations. Top three health risks: 1. Exposure to contaminants: 78 2. Exposure to disease and infections: 63 3. Exposure to radiation: 62 The worst jobs for your health 5. Podiatrists Overall unhealthiness score: 60.2 What they do: Diagnose and treat diseases and deformities of the human foot. Top three health risks: 1. Exposure to disease and infections: 87 2. Exposure to radiation: 69 3. Exposure to contaminants: 67 The worst jobs for your health 4. Veterinarians, veterinary assistants, and laboratory animal caretakers and veterinary technologists and technicians What they do: Diagnose, treat, or research diseases and injuries of animals and perform medical tests in a laboratory environment for use in the treatment and diagnosis of diseases in animals. Top three health risks: 1. Exposure to disease and infections: 81 2. Exposure to minor burns, cuts, bites, or stings: 75 3. Exposure to contaminants: 74 The worst jobs for your health 3. Anesthesiologists, nurse anesthetists, and anesthesiologist assistants Overall unhealthiness score: 62.3 What they do: Administer anesthetics or sedatives during medical procedures, and help patients in recovering from anesthesia. Top three health risks: 1. Exposure to disease and infections: 94 2. Exposure to contaminants: 80 3. Exposure to radiation: 74 The worst jobs for your health 2. Flight attendants What they do: Provide personal services to ensure the safety, security, and comfort of airline passengers during flight. Greet passengers, verify tickets, explain use of safety equipment, and serve food or beverages. Top three health risks: 1. Exposure to contaminants: 88 2. Exposure to disease and infections: 77 3. Exposure to minor burns, cuts, bites, or stings: 69 The worst jobs for your health 1. Dentists, dental surgeons, and dental assistants Overall unhealthiness score: 65.4 What they do: Examine, diagnose, and treat diseases, injuries, and malformations of teeth and gums. May treat diseases of nerve, pulp, and other dental tissues affecting oral hygiene and retention of teeth. May fit dental appliances or provide preventive care. Top three health risks: 1. Exposure to contaminants: 84 2. Exposure to disease and infections: 75 3. Time spent sitting: 67

“We linked databases containing patients’ alcohol consumption recorded by GP or practice nurses to disease and test registries,” he said.

“One of the advantages of doing this is we were able to create a dataset representative of the general population, at a much larger scale than previous studies.”

The scientists used the data to examine the link between alcohol consumption and 12 heart conditions.

When compared to moderate drinking, not drinking at all was linked to increased risk of unstable angina, heart attack, sudden coronary death, heart failure, stroke caused by loss of blood flow, abdominal aneurysm and peripheral arterial disease.

However it didn’t appear to have an effect on chronic stable angina, cardiac arrest, brain attack (‘mini-stroke’) caused by blood clots or two different types of brain haemorrhage.

Dr Bell said the research shouldn't be seen by non-drinkers as a reason to take up drinking alcohol, because there are safer, more effective ways to lower risk of heart disease, such as a healthy diet.

Past research has shown an association between moderate drinking and reduced risk of cardiovascular disease, but these have been controversial due to the grouping of non-drinkers with former drinkers, who may have stopped due to ill health.

To address this, the study separated non-drinkers from former and occasional drinkers. It also focussed on each patient's first visit to a doctor where they were diagnosed with cardiovascular disease.

Drinking more than the recommended limits was linked with an increased risk of most of the conditions, but was found to carry a lower risk of heart attack and angina.

​James Nicholls, director of research and policy development at Alcohol Research UK, said the findings “should be taken seriously” and called the study “an important contribution to the evidence on a controversial subject”.

“A particular strength of this study is that, because of the numbers involved, the researchers are able to separate out different risks for different heart conditions,” he said.

Five ways to keep your kidneys healthy

“The idea that ‘alcohol is good for the heart’ overlooks the fact that there are a wide range of heart conditions and that, knowing what we do about the biological effects of alcohol, the effect of drinking on these conditions should vary.

“This study confirms that alcohol produces different patterns of risk depending whether we are looking at, say, myocardial infarction or angina.”