Association of alcohol consumption pattern with risk of hypertension in Korean adults based on the 2010-2012 KNHANES

We examined the association between alcohol-drinking pattern and hypertension in Korean adults. This cross-sectional study included 15,052 participants (7054 men and 7998 women) who were included in the 2010-2012 Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES). We categorized alcohol-drinking patterns into three groups based on the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) score: low-risk (score: 0-7), intermediate-risk (score: 8-14), and high-risk (score: ≥15). Hypertension was defined as systolic blood pressure ≥140 mm Hg, diastolic blood pressure ≥90 mm Hg, or current use of anti-hypertensive medications. In the study population, 25.2% of men and 4.6% of women were high-risk drinkers. Hypertension prevalence was 30.8% in men and 20.6% in women. Of the total population, 13.8% of men and 13.6% of women were using anti-hypertensive drugs. Age-adjusted hypertension prevalence was 30.8, 40.9, and 45.3% in men, and 24.6, 27.0, and 32.3% in women in the low-, intermediate-, and high-risk drinking group, respectively. Compared to the low-risk drinking group, the prevalence ratio (95% confidence interval [CI]) for hypertension was 1.664 (1.4331.933) and 2.070 (1.772-2.418) for men and 1.012 (0.774-1.323) and 1.650 (1.080-2.522) for women in the intermediate- and high-risk drinking group, respectively, after adjusting for age and other confounding factors. In conclusion, our study suggests high-risk drinking appears to be associated with a higher risk of hypertension in men and women.