[The effect of chronic alcohol consumption on blood pressure]

In 1984, a hypertension screening programme was carried out on 13,772 adult subjects in conjunction with a radiological tuberculosis project in the Hungarian town of Csongrád. Among other factors, the effects of a long-lasting and heavy alcohol intake on blood pressure levels were investigated. 21.4% of the men and 2.3% of women admitted to being regular alcohol consumers. Direct and significant relationships were found between the quantity of alcohol consumed and both the systolic (p less than 0.001) and diastolic (p less than 0.05) blood pressures. The prevalence of hypertension (WHO criteria) was higher in heavy drinkers (29.9%) than in abstinent subjects (20.5%, p less than 0.001). When participants were subgrouped according to age groups only the men provided sufficient data. The systolic blood pressure of heavy drinkers was elevated as compared with that of non-drinkers.