The two most recent meta-analyses [68;155] indicate that alcohol use both reduces and increases the risk of stroke depending on the type of stroke, quantity of alcohol consumed, and drinking pattern. Both of these studies found a positive, almost linear relation between alcohol consumption and logarithmized RR of haemorrhagic stroke (corresponding to an exponential relationship between consumption and the RR of haemorrhagic stroke, when not logarithmized), but observed a curvilinear relationship between alcohol consumption and the logarithmized RR of ischaemic stroke. According to these meta-analyses, low to moderate alcohol consumption (1-2 drinks per day) seemed to have a protective effect on ischaemic stroke, and then the risk curve turned upwards.
