Alcohol intake in relation to lipids, lipoproteins and blood pressure

A cross-sectional population study of 655 men and 731 women was undertaken to evaluate the association between the level of alcohol intake, the level of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and its subfractions, and blood pressure in men and women in different age groups (20-44 and 45-64 years). Habitual alcohol intake was significantly related to higher levels of HDL-C in both men and women. In the case of men both HDL2-C and HDL3-C levels were raised, while in women this rise was restricted almost entirely to HDL2-C. Plasma apolipoprotein A-I and A-II levels were elevated in men who drank, but not in women. In both, triglyceride and blood pressure levels were raised with habitual alcohol intake, and the increases in HDL subfractions and blood pressure levels became more marked with increasing age in both men and women. Recent alcohol intake had less effect on all the variables except blood pressure. We conclude that both HDL3-C and HDL2-C contribute to the rise in HDL-C levels that accompanies alcohol use, notwithstanding differences in the responses of the sexes. A regular alcohol intake is more likely to be beneficial and some of the positive or protective aspects of alcohol consumption could be reduced by the adverse changes in triglycerides and blood pressure levels.