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Alcohol consumption and risk of coronary heart disease among Chinese men
Lydia A Bazzano1, Dongfeng Gu, Kristi Reynolds
1Department of Epidemiology, Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, New Orleans, Louisiana 70112-2715, USA. lbazzano@tulane.edu
Insights
Moderate alcohol intake may reduce myocardial infarction (MI) and coronary heart disease (CHD) risk in Chinese men. However, heavy drinking may increase mortality from other causes, warranting cautious interpretation of these findings.
Area of Science:
- Cardiovascular epidemiology
- Alcohol research
- Public health
Background:
- Existing research on moderate alcohol consumption and reduced risk of myocardial infarction (MI) and coronary heart disease (CHD) is primarily from Western populations.
- This study addresses the need for evidence from diverse ethnic groups, specifically Chinese men.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between alcohol consumption patterns and the risk of incident MI and CHD in a Chinese male cohort.
- To provide insights into cardiovascular disease prevention strategies within non-Western populations.
Main Methods:
- A prospective cohort study involving 64,597 Chinese men aged 40 years and older, free of clinical CHD at baseline.
- Alcohol consumption data (frequency and type) collected in 1991, with follow-up evaluations from 1999-2000 (94% response rate).
- Statistical analysis adjusted for multiple confounders including age, education, smoking, BMI, blood pressure, urbanization, and diabetes history.
Main Results:
- A significant inverse linear trend was observed between alcohol consumption and the risk of MI and CHD.
- Participants consuming 7-34 drinks/week showed a reduced relative risk (RR) of MI (0.66) and CHD (0.67) compared to non-drinkers.
- Higher consumption (≥35 drinks/week) was associated with further risk reduction for MI (RR=0.58) and CHD (RR=0.58), with linear trend p-values <0.0001 for both.
Conclusions:
- Moderate alcohol consumption appears associated with a lower risk of MI and CHD in middle-aged and older Chinese men.
- Heavy alcohol consumption may be linked to increased mortality from other causes, necessitating cautious interpretation.
- Findings suggest potential benefits of moderate alcohol intake on cardiovascular health in this population, but emphasize the need for balanced consideration of overall health risks.
Background:
Observational studies suggest that moderate alcohol consumption may lower risk of myocardial infarction (MI) and coronary heart disease (CHD); yet, evidence for this comes almost entirely from Western populations.
Methods:
We conducted a prospective cohort study in 64,597 Chinese men aged > or = 40 years who were free of clinical CHD at baseline examination. Data on frequency and type of alcohol consumed were collected at the baseline examination in 1991 using a standard protocol. Follow-up evaluation was conducted in 1999-2000, with a response rate of 94%.
Results:
Over 494,084 person-years of follow-up, we documented 725 (361 fatal) incident MI and 976 (588 fatal) incident CHD events. After stratification by province to account for multi-stage sampling design and adjustment for age, education, physical activity, cigarette smoking, body mass index, systolic blood pressure, urbanization (urban vs. rural), geographic variation (north vs. south) and history of diabetes, relative risk (95% confidence interval) of MI was 0.93 (0.70-1.24) for participants consuming 1 to 6 drinks/week, 0.66 (0.54-0.82) for those consuming 7 to 34 drinks/week, and 0.58 (0.41-0.81) for those consuming > or = 35 drinks/week (p for linear trend <0.0001) compared to non-drinkers. The corresponding relative risks for CHD events were 0.99 (0.77-1.27), 0.67 (0.56-0.81), and 0.58 (0.44-0.78), respectively (p for linear trend <0.0001).
Conclusion:
Alcohol consumption may be related to lower risk of MI and CHD in middle-aged and older Chinese men. However, heavy alcohol consumption may lead to increased mortality from other causes; therefore, the implications of these findings should be interpreted cautiously.
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