Comparison of alcoholic cardiomyopathy in women versus men.
To compare the prevalence and cardiac status of male and female alcoholics with alcoholic cardiomyopathy during a 5-year period, all chronic alcoholics with dilated cardiomyopathy who had clinical symptoms of heart failure were included. Alcoholic cardiomyopathy was diagnosed in 10 chronic alcoholic women and in 26 men; the prevalence of alcoholic cardiomyopathy was similar in both sexes. No significant differences were observed in age, nutritional parameters, and clinical and radiologic data of heart failure between the 2 groups. Alcoholic women reported a significantly lower daily dose of ethanol (p = 0.002), a shorter duration of alcoholism (p = 0.017), and a lower total lifetime dose of ethanol consumption (p = 0.001), and had a lower New York Heart Association functional class than men. Women also had lesser ventricular dysfunction than men. In a multivariate analysis, left ventricular systolic dysfunction was related to the total lifetime dose of ethanol consumption (p <0.04), but not to gender. Finally, when patients were matched for left ventricular ejection fraction, women had consumed a lower total lifetime dose of ethanol than men (p <0.001). The prevalence of alcoholic women with dilated cardiomyopathy was found to be similar to that of alcoholic men, although women required a lower total lifetime dose of ethanol to develop the disease.
Fernández-Solà
J
J
Department of Medicine, Hospital Clínic i Provincial, University of Barcelona, Spain.
Estruch
R
R
Nicolás
J M
JM
Paré
J C
JC
Sacanella
E
E
Antúnez
E
E
Urbano-Márquez
A
A
D000328:Adult; D002310:Cardiomyopathy, Alcoholic / Q000097:blood / Q000503:physiopathology*; D002311:Cardiomyopathy, Dilated / Q000097:blood / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D000431:Ethanol / Q000009:adverse effects*; D005260:Female; D006321:Heart / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D015995:Prevalence; D012727:Sex Characteristics
D000431:Ethanol