BACKGROUND:AIMS: Gallstone disease (GSD) is a common gastrointestinal disorder. Clinical epidemiological studies revealed that alcohol consumption has a preventive effect on the development of GSD. This study aimed to evaluate the relative risks of drinking for GSD development and investigate the dose-response relationships.
METHODS: A systematic search of the MEDLINE, EMBASE, and Cochrane Library databases for studies published up to 2018 was performed. All studies that satisfied the following eligibility criteria were included: patients with GSD with or without cholecystitis; and cohort or case-control studies investigating the association between alcohol consumption and GSD development.
RESULTS: Sixteen case-control studies including 24,401 gallstone cases and 76,185 controls, and eight cohort studies with 14,693 GSD cases among 2,432,471 person-years were enrolled. Alcohol consumption presented a decreased overall risk of GSD (pooled relative ratio [RR], 0.84; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.79 to 0.89; p=0.02). Subgroup analyses according to drinking levels indicated a gradual risk reduction for GSD compared to nondrinkers (light: RR, 0.96; 95% CI, 0.94 to 0.99; p=0.75; moderate: RR, 0.80; 95% CI, 0.75 to 0.85; p=0.27; high: RR, 0.66; 95% CI, 0.56 to 0.79; p0.01). A nonlinear risk reduction was observed in a dose-response meta-analysis of all the studies (n=14, p0.01 for nonlinearity).
CONCLUSIONS: In this systematic review with meta-analysis, alcohol consumption could decrease the risk of GSD, and the dose-response analysis revealed a dose-dependent linear risk reduction and a weakened linear trend between alcohol consumption levels less than and greater than 28 g/day.
BACKGROUND: Studies on the relation between alcohol consumption and risk of colorectal adenoma (CRA), a precursor of colorectal cancer, have been inconsistent. AIM: A systematic review with meta-analysis was conducted to investigate the association and the dose-response of alcohol with CRA.
METHODS: A literature search was performed on PubMed to identify relevant studies published up to January 2014. A fixed or random effects model was used to estimate summarised relative risks (RRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for the association between alcohol intake and CRA risk. Statistical heterogeneity between studies was assessed with the chi(2) statistic and quantified by I(2).
RESULTS: Twenty-three case-control studies and two cohort studies were included in the meta-analysis. All drinkers were associated with 17% increased risk for CRA, compared with nondrinkers or occasional alcohol drinkers. The dose-response analysis demonstrated that for drinkers of 10, 25, 50 and 100 g/day alcohol consumption, the estimated RRs of CRA were 1.02 (95% CI 0.89-1.16), 1.06 (95% CI 0.92-1.20), 1.16 (95% CI 1.02-1.33) and 1.61 (95% CI 1.42-1.84) respectively, in comparison with non-/occasional drinkers. The risks were consistent in the subgroup analyses of gender and site of adenoma, while it was stronger in European studies than the studies in the US and Asia.
CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that alcohol intake is related to a significant increase of risk for colrectal adenoma.
BACKGROUND: Studies on the relation between alcohol consumption and risk of colorectal adenoma (CRA), a precursor of colorectal cancer, have been inconsistent. AIM: A systematic review with meta-analysis was conducted to investigate the association and the dose-response of alcohol with CRA.
METHODS: A literature search was performed on PubMed to identify relevant studies published up to January 2014. A fixed or random effects model was used to estimate summarised relative risks (RRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for the association between alcohol intake and CRA risk. Statistical heterogeneity between studies was assessed with the chi(2) statistic and quantified by I(2).
RESULTS: Twenty-three case-control studies and two cohort studies were included in the meta-analysis. All drinkers were associated with 17% increased risk for CRA, compared with nondrinkers or occasional alcohol drinkers. The dose-response analysis demonstrated that for drinkers of 10, 25, 50 and 100 g/day alcohol consumption, the estimated RRs of CRA were 1.02 (95% CI 0.89-1.16), 1.06 (95% CI 0.92-1.20), 1.16 (95% CI 1.02-1.33) and 1.61 (95% CI 1.42-1.84) respectively, in comparison with non-/occasional drinkers. The risks were consistent in the subgroup analyses of gender and site of adenoma, while it was stronger in European studies than the studies in the US and Asia.
CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that alcohol intake is related to a significant increase of risk for colrectal adenoma.
BACKGROUND: Although high alcohol consumption has been associated with increased risk of atrial fibrillation (AF), the role of light to moderate drinking remains unclear.
OBJECTIVES: The study sought to investigate the association between alcohol consumption and AF risk in a prospective study of Swedish men and women and to conduct a meta-analysis of prospective studies to summarize available evidence.
METHODS: We followed 79,019 men and women who, at baseline, were free from AF and had completed a questionnaire about alcohol consumption and other risk factors for chronic diseases. Incident AF cases were ascertained by linkage to the Swedish Inpatient Register. For the meta-analysis, studies were identified by searching PubMed through January 10, 2014, and by reviewing references of pertinent publications. Study-specific relative risks (RRs) were combined using a random effects model.
RESULTS: Over 859,420 person-years of follow-up (1998 to 2009), 7,245 incident AF cases were identified in our own cohort study. The association between alcohol consumption and AF did not differ by sex (p for interaction = 0.74). Compared with current drinkers of 21 drinks/week. Results were similar after excluding binge drinkers. In a meta-analysis of 7 prospective studies, including 12,554 AF cases, the RRs were 1.08 (95% CI: 1.06 to 1.10) for 1 drink/day, 1.17 (95% CI: 1.13 to 1.21) for 2 drinks/day, 1.26 (95% CI: 1.19 to 1.33) for 3 drinks/day, 1.36 (95% CI: 1.27 to 1.46) for 4 drinks/day, and 1.47 (95% CI: 1.34 to 1.61) for 5 drinks/day, compared with nondrinkers.
CONCLUSIONS: These findings indicate that alcohol consumption, even at moderate intakes, is a risk factor for atrial fibrillation.