BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Many addictive substances, such as tobacco and alcohol, influence atherosclerosis development. Whether or not tobacco's pro-atherosclerotic effect is influenced by alcohol consumption is unknown. We aimed to estimate the impact of alcohol intake on the presence of subclinical atherosclerosis in femoral arteries in smoking and non-smoking middle-aged men.
DESIGN, SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: Cross-sectional analysis of a subset of the Aragon Workers Health Study (AWHS), comprising 2099 men with mean age 50.9 years without previous cardiovascular disease.
MEASUREMENTS: The presence of plaques in femoral arteries was assessed by high-resolution sonography. Self-reported alcohol consumption over the previous year was measured with a food frequency questionnaire. The sample was divided into four groups according to their daily grams of alcohol consumption /= 2 to < 30, >/= 30 to < 60 and >/= 60 g/day. Participants were divided on ever-smoking (current and former) versus never-smoking strata in the main analysis.
FINDINGS: We did not find a significant association between the different levels of alcohol intake and the likelihood of developing femoral artery atherosclerosis in never-smokers. Ever-smoking was positively associated with femoral atherosclerosis overall [odds ratio (OR) = 3.00; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 2.40, 3.74; P < 0.001] and within each level of alcohol consumption. Atherosclerosis was lower in ever-smokers who consumed 2 g/day or more but less than 30 g/day with respect to those ever-smokers who were abstainers (OR = 0.70; 95% CI = 0.49, 0.99; P < 0.05). However, among these ever-smokers, atherosclerosis prevalence was still higher than among never-smokers who consumed alcohol in the same amount (2 g/day or more but less than 30 g/day) (OR = 2.73; 95% CI = 2.07, 3.61; P < 0.001).
CONCLUSIONS: Among middle-aged men, moderate alcohol consumption appears to be associated with lower prevalence of femoral artery subclinical atherosclerosis compared with alcohol abstinence only in ever-smokers.
OBJECTIVE: We assessed the influence of sex on the effects of smoking and alcohol consumption on the risk of Parkinson's disease (PD).
METHODS: This population-based cohort study examined data of 6,795,816 Koreans aged >/=40 years from the Korean National Health Insurance Service database who completed a national program for general health check-up at 2009. For a maximum 9 years' observation period, incident PD was tracked, and hazard ratios and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were computed using the Cox proportional hazard models, adjusted for potential confounding factors for each sex group. We tested interactions on the addictive scale by estimating the relative excess risk due to interaction (RERI).
RESULTS: 3,400,538 men and 3,395,278 women generated 24,365,694 and 24,754,154 person-years, respectively. A total of 13,223 men (0.39%) and 14,818 women (0.44%) developed PD during follow-up. Current smoking and alcohol independently reduced the risk of PD in both sexes. Current male smokers tended to have a lower risk of PD than current female smokers at equal smoking intensity (P < 0.0001 for interaction) and duration (P < 0.0001 for interaction). In contrast, at equal alcohol intakes, PD risk tended to be lower in female drinkers than in male drinkers (P < 0.0001 for interaction). A superadditive interaction between smoking and alcohol was found in current male smokers (RERI, 0.19; 95% CI, 0.04 to 0.34; P = 0.015) and female ex-smokers (RERI, 0.42; 95% CI, 0.09 to 0.76; P = 0.014).
CONCLUSION: Our data suggest sex-related differences in individual and joint impacts of smoking and alcohol intake on the risk of PD.
OBJECTIVE: To examine how a healthy lifestyle is related to life expectancy that is free from major chronic diseases. DESIGN: Prospective cohort study.
SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: The Nurses' Health Study (1980-2014; n=73 196) and the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study (1986-2014; n=38 366).
MAIN EXPOSURES: Five low risk lifestyle factors: never smoking, body mass index 18.5-24.9, moderate to vigorous physical activity (>/=30 minutes/day), moderate alcohol intake (women: 5-15 g/day; men 5-30 g/day), and a higher diet quality score (upper 40%).
MAIN OUTCOME: Life expectancy free of diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and cancer. RESULTS: The life expectancy free of diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and cancer at age 50 was 23.7 years (95% confidence interval 22.6 to 24.7) for women who adopted no low risk lifestyle factors, in contrast to 34.4 years (33.1 to 35.5) for women who adopted four or five low risk factors. At age 50, the life expectancy free of any of these chronic diseases was 23.5 (22.3 to 24.7) years among men who adopted no low risk lifestyle factors and 31.1 (29.5 to 32.5) years in men who adopted four or five low risk lifestyle factors. For current male smokers who smoked heavily (>/=15 cigarettes/day) or obese men and women (body mass index >/=30), their disease-free life expectancies accounted for the lowest proportion (</=75%) of total life expectancy at age 50.
CONCLUSION: Adherence to a healthy lifestyle at mid-life is associated with a longer life expectancy free of major chronic diseases.