(Healio) - Wine consumption may offer greater protection against the risk for type 2 diabetes compared with beer or other alcoholic beverages, according to study findings published in the Journal of Diabetes Investigation.

“In line with the conclusion that total alcohol consumption decreased the risk of type 2 diabetes, the pooled RRs for different alcoholic beverages indicated that all of wine, beer or spirits consumption were associated with decreased risk of type 2 diabetes,” the researchers wrote. “In spite of the similarity, there were still diversities among different types of alcoholic beverages.” 

Jin Huang, PhD, of Huazhong University of Science and Technology in Wuhan, China, and colleagues conducted a meta-analysis of 13 prospective studies that included 397,296 participants and 20,641 cases of type 2 diabetes to determine the link between specific types of alcoholic beveragesand the risk for type 2 diabetes.

Wine consumption yielded a 15% reduced risk for type 2 diabetes (RR = 0.85; 95% CI, 0.8-0.89), beer consumption yielded a slight decrease in the risk (RR = 0.96; 95% CI, 0.92-1) and spirit consumption yielded a slight reduction, although not significant (RR = 0.95; 95% CI, 0.89-1.03).

“In line with the conclusion that total alcohol consumption decreased the risk of type 2 diabetes, the pooled RRs for different alcoholic beverages indicated that all of wine, beer or spirits consumption were associated with decreased risk of type 2 diabetes,” the researchers wrote. “In spite of the similarity, there were still diversities among different types of alcoholic beverages.” 

Jin Huang, PhD, of Huazhong University of Science and Technology in Wuhan, China, and colleagues conducted a meta-analysis of 13 prospective studies that included 397,296 participants and 20,641 cases of type 2 diabetes to determine the link between specific types of alcoholic beveragesand the risk for type 2 diabetes.

Wine consumption yielded a 15% reduced risk for type 2 diabetes (RR = 0.85; 95% CI, 0.8-0.89), beer consumption yielded a slight decrease in the risk (RR = 0.96; 95% CI, 0.92-1) and spirit consumption yielded a slight reduction, although not significant (RR = 0.95; 95% CI, 0.89-1.03).