AIMS/HYPOTHESIS: The aim of this study was to evaluate the prospective association between baseline and 9 year change in alcohol consumption and long-term risk of diabetes and whether these associations might be modified by sex and/or BMI.
METHODS: We conducted a prospective analysis of 12,042 Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) study participants without prevalent diabetes (55% women, 78% white, mean age 54 years). Alcohol consumption was assessed at visit 1 (1987-1989) and visit 4 (1996-1998). We used Cox models to estimate hazard ratios for diabetes risk by baseline drinking categories and change in alcohol consumption, stratified by sex and obesity status.
RESULTS: During a median follow-up of 21 years, there were 3795 incident cases of diabetes. Among women, consuming 8-14 drinks/week was associated with a significantly lower risk of diabetes (HR 0.75, 95% CI 0.58, 0.96) compared with current drinkers consuming ≤1 drink/week. Among men, consuming 8-14 drinks/week was associated with a borderline significant lower risk of diabetes (HR 0.84, 95% CI 0.70, 1.00) and consuming >14 drinks/week was associated with a significantly lower risk of diabetes (HR 0.81, 95% CI 0.67, 0.97) (p(interaction) < 0.01 for sex). For both sexes, among current drinkers, there was a significant decreasing trend in diabetes risk as the alcohol consumption increased. The association was modified by BMI (p(interaction) = 0.042 for women, p(interaction) < 0.001 for men). In women, the inverse association was only seen among overweight and obese participants. In men, the inverse association was more pronounced among obese participants. On average, drinking status did not change substantially over the 9 year period. For men with alcohol intake ≥7 drinks/week at baseline, decreasing alcohol intake was associated with higher risk of diabetes (HR per daily drink decrease 1.12, 95% CI 1.02, 1.23).
CONCLUSIONS/INTERPRETATION: In this community-based population, there was an inverse association between alcohol consumption and diabetes risk. The amount of the alcohol consumption associated with lower risk was different in women and men, and the association was more pronounced among participants with higher BMI.
Based on a prospective cohort study of adults from southwest China with heterogeneity in their demographical characteristics and lifestyles, we aimed to explore the association between drinking patterns and incident hypertension under the interaction of these confounding factors. The Cox proportional hazard model was used to estimate the hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI).
Subgroup analysis was performed according to sex, ethnicity, area, occupation, smoking, and exercise to compare the differences in the association between drinking patterns and the incidence of hypertension. Blood pressure was higher in participants with a high drinking frequency than those with a low drinking frequency (p < 0.001). We found that total drinking frequency, liquor drinking frequency, rice wine drinking frequency, and alcohol consumption were significantly associated with an increased risk of hypertension.
Compared with the non-drinking group, a heavy drinking pattern was positively correlated with hypertension. Drinking can increase the risk of hypertension, especially heavy drinking patterns, with a high frequency of alcohol intake and high alcohol consumption. From the analysis results of the longitudinal data, drinking alcohol is still an important risk factor for hypertension among Chinese subjects, especially for men, the rural population, the employed, the Han nationality, smokers, and certain exercise populations.
The relationship between alcohol consumption and cardiovascular disease risk is complex. Low-to-moderate daily alcohol consumption (1-2 drinks/day) is associated with reduced risk, whereas greater amounts of alcohol consumption and a "binge" pattern of drinking are associated with increased cardiovascular risk and mortality. Arterial stiffness may help explain the complex relationship.
This integrated review summarizes data from studies examining the associations between alcohol consumption and pulse wave velocity, a gold standard measure of arterial stiffness. We also briefly review the concept and methodology of pulse wave velocity measurement as well as the mechanisms of alcohol-induced arterial stiffening.
Findings among the different studies reviewed were inconsistent with methodological challenges related to alcohol use assessment. While making specific conclusions regarding this relationship is tenuous; the data suggest that excessive alcohol consumption or a binge drinking pattern is associated with increased arterial stiffness.