Differential Blood Pressure And Grip Strength Responses To Alcohol Intoxication In Binge And Non-binge Drinkers

Purpose: Chronic excessive alcohol use is well known to negatively impact cardiovascular functioning and have lasting effects on physical performance. However, little is known about how acute alcohol intoxication affects cardiovascular response to exercise or measures of performance. This study aims to investigate how alcohol intoxication affects grip strength and blood pressure (BP) regulation in young adults, with a focus on differences in BP recovery post-exercise based on drinking behaviors. METHODS: An alcoholic (0.4 g/kg ethanol) or placebo beverage was administered to 21 21-29 year old binge drinkers (5+ [males]/4+ [females] drinks per occasion) or non-binge drinkers. Continuous BP was measured throughout the blood alcohol concentration (BAC) curve post-consumption. Participants performed a 16-rep 5-second maximal intensity isometric handgrip task twice on the ascending limb (every 10 min) and 4 times on the descending limb (every 15 min) of the BAC curve. A linear mixed model evaluated changes in BP across time and grip strength during the tasks. RESULTS: Grip strength decreased when rest between grip tasks was shorter (ascending limb) and increased when break time was longer (descending limb). Grip strength was directly affected by BAC, such individuals who achieved higher BACs showed less reduction in grip strength in the ascending limb and greater increases over baseline in the descending limb (F(1,285) = 4.23, 0.041. In non-binge drinkers, BP decreased as BAC increased and plateaued as BAC surpassed 0.06%. Conversely, in binge drinkers, BP increased until BAC reached 0.04% and then decreased at higher concentration (F(1,2221) = 7.69, p = 0.0056). Shorter rest between grip tasks was associated with higher BP but a return to resting levels when break time was observed in non-binge drinkers whereas BP continued to rise in binge drinkers (F(1,2221) = 5.95, p = 0.0148). CONCLUSION: Acute alcohol intoxication seems to improve grip strength in a dose-related manner. Both groups performed similarly on the grip tasks but BP recovery appeared to be slower in binge drinkers. This suggests that chronic drinking can impair the body’s ability to restore cardiovascular homeostasis post-exercise. Such inefficiencies may ultimately increase risk of cardiovascular pathology. Supported by: F31AA031620, R01AA027017