Alcohol consumption and the prevalence of the Metabolic Syndrome in the US.: a cross-sectional analysis of data from the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.
OBJECTIVE
The aim of this study was to examine the relations of alcohol consumption to the prevalence of the metabolic syndrome and its components in the U.S. population.


METHODS
We performed a cross-sectional analysis on data from 8,125 participants from the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey who were evaluated for each component of the metabolic syndrome, using the National Cholesterol Education Program criteria, fasting insulin, and alcohol consumption. Current alcohol consumption was defined as > or =1 alcoholic drink per month.


RESULTS
After adjustment for age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, income, tobacco use, physical activity, and diet, subjects who consumed 1-19 and > or =20 drinks of alcohol per month had odds ratios (ORs) for the prevalence of the metabolic syndrome of 0.65 and 0.34, respectively (P <0.05 for all), compared with current nondrinkers. These findings were particularly noteworthy for beer and wine drinkers. The association of > or =20 alcoholic drinks per month with the prevalence of the metabolic syndrome was consistent across ethnicities but was most striking in white men and women (ORs 0.35 and 0.22, respectively; P <0.05). Alcohol consumption was significantly and inversely associated with the prevalence of the following three components of the metabolic syndrome: low serum HDL cholesterol, elevated serum triglycerides, high waist circumference, as well as hyperinsulinemia (P <0.05 for all).


CONCLUSIONS
Mild to moderate alcohol consumption is associated with a lower prevalence of the metabolic syndrome, with a favorable influence on lipids, waist circumference, and fasting insulin. This association was strongest among whites and among beer and wine drinkers.
Freiberg
Matthew S
MS
Boston Medical Center, 91 E. Concord St., MAT 2 Suite 200, Boston, MA 02118. matthew.freiberg@bmc.org.
Cabral
Howard J
HJ
Heeren
Tim C
TC
Vasan
Ramachandran S
RS
Curtis Ellison
R
R
D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000453:epidemiology*; D004522:Educational Status; D005006:Ethnicity; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D007182:Income; D008019:Life Style; D008297:Male; D024821:Metabolic Syndrome / Q000453:epidemiology*; D010353:Patient Education as Topic; D044469:Racial Groups; D014481:United States