Relationship between alcohol consumption, ambulatory blood pressure recordings and left ventricular mass

The relationship between alcohol consumption, blood pressure and left ventricular mass remains uncertain. A detailed alcohol intake history, clinic blood pressure measurements, 24-h ambulatory blood pressure recordings and measurements of left ventricular mass using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) were performed in 98 males aged 47.9 +/- 9.7 years, 20 of whom were receiving antihypertensive monotherapy. Alcohol consumption (median intake 315 g/week, range 0-2050) was significantly related to supine systolic clinic blood pressures (beta = 0.20, p = 0.05) but not to clinic supine diastolic blood pressures (beta = 0.12, p = 0.25), 24-h blood pressures (systolic: beta = -0.03, p = 0.75; diastolic beta = -0.05, p = 0.60), awake blood pressures or sleeping blood pressures. Alcohol consumption was not related to left ventricular mass index (beta = -0.05, p = 0.59). Left ventricular mass was strongly related to mean 24-h systolic blood pressures (beta = 0.28, p = 0.01), mean awake and sleeping systolic blood pressures, and less strongly to clinic systolic blood pressures (beta = 0.23, p = 0.03). These results were not significantly altered by adjusting for age, smoking, body mass index or alcohol intake, or by excluding the 20 men who were receiving antihypertensive therapy. The results of this study suggest that alcohol consumption at levels commonly encountered in the community is not an important predictor of left ventricular mass index in men, either via direct effects or by indirect effects on blood pressure.