OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the longitudinal relationship between repeated measures of alcohol consumption and risk of developing fatty liver.
PATIENTS AND METHODS: This study includes 5407 men and women from a British population-based cohort, the Whitehall II study of civil servants, who self-reported alcohol consumption by questionnaire over approximately 30 years (1985-1989 through to 2012-2013). Drinking typologies during midlife were linked to measures of fatty liver (the fatty liver index, FLI) when participants were in older age (age range 60-84 years) and adjusted for age, socio-economic position, ethnicity, and smoking.
RESULTS: Those who consistently drank heavily had two-fold higher odds of increased FLI compared to stable low-risk moderate drinkers after adjustment for covariates (men: OR = 2.04, 95%CI = 1.53-2.74; women: OR = 2.24, 95%CI = 1.08-4.55). Former drinkers also had an increased FLI compared to low-risk drinkers (men: OR = 2.09, 95%CI = 1.55-2.85; women: OR = 1.68, 95%CI = 1.08-2.67). There were non-significant differences in FLI between non-drinkers and stable low-risk drinkers. Among women, there was no increased risk for current heavy drinkers in cross sectional analyses.
CONCLUSION: Drinking habits among adults during midlife affect the development of fatty liver, and sustained heavy drinking is associated with an increased FLI compared to stable low-risk drinkers. After the exclusion of former drinkers, there was no difference between non-drinkers and low-risk drinkers, which does not support a protective effect on fatty liver from low-risk drinking. Cross-sectional analyses among women did not find an increased risk of heavy drinking compared to low-risk drinkers, thus highlighting the need to take a longitudinal approach.
BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: The progression of carotid-plaque volume in patients with type 2 diabetes is common. Previous observational studies showed an association between moderate alcohol and reduced risk of coronary disease. We examined whether consuming moderate wine affects the progression of carotid atherosclerosis.
SUBJECTS/METHODS: In the CASCADE (CArdiovaSCulAr Diabetes and Ethanol), a 2-year randomized controlled trial, we randomized abstainers with type 2 diabetes were to drink 150 ml of either red wine, white wine, or water, provided for 2 years. In addition, groups were guided to maintain a Mediterranean diet. We followed 2-year changes in carotid total plaque volume (carotid-TPV) and carotid vessel wall volume (carotid-VWV), using three-dimensional ultrasound.
RESULTS: Carotid images were available from 174 of the 224 CASCADE participants (67% men; age = 59 yr; HbA1C = 6.8%). Forty-five percent had detectable plaque at baseline. After 2 years, no significant progression in carotid-TPV was observed (water, -1.4 (17.0) mm(3), CI (-2.7, 5.5), white-wine, -1.2 (16.9) mm(3), CI (-3.8, 6.2), red wine, -1.3 (17.6) mm(3), CI (-3.4, 6.0; p = 0.9 between groups)). In post hoc analysis, we divided the 78 participants with detectable baseline carotid plaque into tertiles. Those with the higher baseline plaque burden, whom were assigned to drink wine, reduced their plaque volume significantly after 2 years, as compared to baseline. Two-year reductions in Apo(B)/Apo(A) ratio(s) were independently associated with regression in carotid-TPV (beta = 0.4; p < 0.001). Two-year decreases in systolic blood pressure were independently associated with regression in carotid-VWV (beta = 0.2; p = 0.005).
CONCLUSIONS: No progression in carotid-TPV was observed. In subgroup analyses, those with the greatest plaque burden assigned to drink wine may have had a small regression of plaque burden.
BACKGROUND: Cancer is a major public health problem worldwide, and the number of incident cases increases every year expected to reach 17.1 million a year by 2020. There is evidence that people who adhere to the Mediterranean Diet (MediD) have lower incidence of cancer. However, cancers' location and culture studies seem to affect the MediD impact. We aimed to review these discrepant findings.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: A critical review from a focused literature search was conducted. A literature search of controlled trials from: EMBASE (1970-), MEDLINE (1950-) and PsycINFO (1960-) was undertaken. Two authors (DF and YB) independently extracted the data.
RESULTS: Out of 785 abstracts identified only 583 publications focused solely on MediD and cancer. Of these, 46 were clinical trials published since 2007. Twenty-eight trials with a total of 570,262 participants are included in accordance with inclusion criteria. Only four reported the MediD does not reduce the risk of cancer. Of the negative studies, three were undertaken in non-Mediterranean populations. Cancers of the digestive tract were studied in 11 studies. Except for pancreatic cancer, all other sites along the digestive tract demonstrated significantly reduced rate with the MediD.
CONCLUSION: The MediD is associated with reduction in overall cancer rates as well as significantly lower rates of digestive tract cancers. These effects may be accentuated in the Mediterranean countries themselves. Further studies are needed to support or refute the effects of the MediD on other cancer types.