title: Alcohol consumption and the risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus: atherosclerosis risk in communities study.
abstract: Evidence regarding the association between alcohol consumption and type 2 diabetes risk remains inconsistent, particularly with regard to male-female differences. The authors conducted a prospective study of type 2 diabetes risk associated with alcohol consumption in a cohort of 12,261 middle-aged participants of the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study (1990-1998), who were followed between 3 and 6 years. Alcohol consumption at baseline was characterized into lifetime abstainers, former drinkers, and current drinkers of various levels. Incident diabetes was determined by blood glucose measurements and self-report. After adjustment for potential confounders, an increased risk of diabetes was found in men who drank >21 drinks/week when compared with men who drank < or =1 drink/week (odds ratio = 1.50, 95% confidence interval: 1.02, 2.20) while no significant association was found in women. This increased diabetes risk among men who drank >21 drinks/week was predominantly related to spirits rather than to beer or wine consumption. The relative odds of incident diabetes in a comparison of men who drank >14 drinks of spirits per week with men who were current drinkers but reported no regular use of spirits, beer, or wine were 1.82 (95% confidence interval: 1.14, 2.92). Results of this study support the hypothesis that high alcohol intake increases diabetes risk among middle-aged men. However, more moderate levels of alcohol consumption do not increase risk of type 2 diabetes in either middle-aged men or women.
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA.
authors.forename: W H
authors.initials: WH
authors.lastname: Kao
authors.forename: I B
authors.initials: IB
authors.lastname: Puddey
authors.forename: L L
authors.initials: LL
authors.lastname: Boland
authors.forename: R L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Watson
authors.forename: F L
authors.initials: FL
authors.lastname: Brancati
mesh_terms: D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000009:adverse effects*; D001786:Blood Glucose / Q000032:analysis; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000209:etiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012307:Risk Factors; D012737:Sex Factors; D013695:Temperance
chemical_list: D001786:Blood Glucose