title: Are stress related factors associated with alcohol intake?
abstract: Moderate alcohol consumption is related to reduced risks of coronary heart disease and all-cause mortality. Our goal is to advance our understanding of the associations between stress-related factors and alcohol consumption, using cutoff points for alcohol intake that reflect health benefits rather than health risks. Cross-sectional data were used from 4,131 respondents (age 20-65 years) participating in a cohort study in the Netherlands on psychosocial factors and cancer risk. Analyses were performed among drinkers only, for men and women separately. Heavy alcohol intake (>/= 3 glasses per day for men, >/= 2 glasses per day for women) was associated with only a few stress-related factors in multivariate analyses. No significant associations between the total amount of stressors and alcohol intake were found. We conclude that stress-related factors are only marginally associated with a heavy alcohol intake compared with fair drinking, using the safe limits of drinking as cutoff point.
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Public Health and the Environment, Bilthoven, The Netherlands. jeanne.van.loon@rivm.nl
authors.forename: A Jeanne M
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: van Loon
authors.forename: Marja
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tijhuis
authors.forename: A Jantine
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Schuit
authors.forename: Hans A M
authors.initials: HA
authors.lastname: van Oers
authors.forename: Paul G
authors.initials: PG
authors.lastname: Surtees
authors.forename: Johan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ormel
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000523:psychology*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006331:Heart Diseases / Q000209:etiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D012016:Reference Values; D013315:Stress, Psychological