Related Experiment Video
Updated: Oct 8, 2025
Isolation and Analysis of Plasma Lipoproteins by Ultracentrifugation
Published on: January 28, 2021
Moderate alcohol consumption and lipoprotein subfractions: a systematic review of intervention and observational
Trine L Wilkens1, Kaare Tranæs1, Jane N Eriksen1
1Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports, Section for Preventive and Clinical Nutrition, University of Copenhagen, Denmark.
Context:
Moderate alcohol consumption is associated with decreased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and improvement in cardiovascular risk markers, including lipoproteins and lipoprotein subfractions.
Objective:
To systematically review the relationship between moderate alcohol intake, lipoprotein subfractions, and related mechanisms.
Data Sources:
Following PRISMA, all human and ex vivo studies with an alcohol intake up to 60 g/d were included from 8 databases.
Data Extraction:
A total of 17 478 studies were screened, and data were extracted from 37 intervention and 77 observational studies.
Results:
Alcohol intake was positively associated with all HDL subfractions. A few studies found lower levels of small LDLs, increased average LDL particle size, and nonlinear relationships to apolipoprotein B-containing lipoproteins. Cholesterol efflux capacity and paraoxonase activity were consistently increased. Several studies had unclear or high risk of bias, and heterogeneous laboratory methods restricted comparability between studies.
Conclusions:
Up to 60 g/d alcohol can cause changes in lipoprotein subfractions and related mechanisms that could influence cardiovascular health.
Systematic Review Registration:
PROSPERO registration no. 98955.
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