Relationship between blood pressure and alcohol consumption on the previous day in Japanese men

An association has been found between high blood pressure (BP) and the regular consumption of alcohol in epidemiological studies, and a repeated withdrawal reaction to alcohol is considered one of the mechanisms of high BP in drinkers. In this study, we investigated the association between BP and alcohol consumption on the previous day in regular male drinkers. The study participants were 551 men aged 20 to 59 yr who drank alcohol regularly. BP was measured and information on daily alcohol intake was obtained from each participant by a questionnaire, which also asked whether alcohol had been consumed on the day before BP measurement. Age-adjusted BP was compared between participants who had (n=504, 91.6%) and those who had not (n=47, 8.4%) consumed alcohol on the previous day. There were no significant differences between the two groups with regard to BP or body mass index. Even after excluding subjects who were receiving anti-hypertensive drugs, there was still no significant difference in age-adjusted BP between the two groups. Our study found no association between BP and alcohol consumption on the previous day in regular male drinkers, which implies that alcohol withdrawal after 1 d of abstinence cannot explain the high blood pressure found in regular drinkers in this Japanese middle-aged population.