Alcohol consumption, blood pressure and stroke mortality in Japan

The relationship between the national blood pressure level of an over 10,000 member representative sample of the population and alcohol consumption, using the time-series data during the period 1956-1980 was analysed. Analysis by multiple regression analysis showed alcohol consumption to be significantly related to the mean systolic blood pressure level for men independent of the treatment rate of hypertension, obesity, salt consumption and smoking rate. The relationship between alcohol consumption and stroke mortality using the age-adjusted stroke mortality for the middle-aged and alcohol consumption by prefecture (an administrative district of a province in Japan), in 1975 was also investigated. Stroke mortality for middle-aged men was highly significantly related, that for women was borderline but still significantly related, and the male:female ratio of the age-adjusted stroke mortality was also highly significantly related to alcohol intake. Thus, alcohol intake may play a role in increasing blood pressure levels and precipitate stroke, although it is possible that other confounding factors related to alcohol drinking may be related to blood pressure and also to stroke mortality.