Association between consumption of beer, wine, and liquor and plasma concentration of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein in women aged 39 to 89 years.
Although cross-sectional studies have shown an inverse or U-shaped relation between alcohol consumption and plasma concentration of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), the associations between specific types of alcoholic beverages--beer, wine, and liquor--and hs-CRP concentrations are less clear. Plasma concentrations of hs-CRP were measured in 11,815 participants in the Women's Health Study who had never used postmenopausal hormones. Alcohol intake was measured using a semiquantitative food-frequency questionnaire. Alcohol consumption had an inverse association with geometric mean hs-CRP concentrations (nondrinkers 1.43 mg/L, 0.1 to 6 g alcohol/day 1.37 mg/L, 6.1 to 12 g alcohol/day 1.29 mg/L, >12 g alcohol/day 1.28 mg/L, p for trend = 0.003). In age-adjusted analyses, beverage preference was a significant predictor of geometric mean hs-CRP concentration. However, after adjustment for body mass index (BMI), beer drinkers who consumed 6.1 to 12 g alcohol/day had a geometric mean hs-CRP concentration of 1.03 mg/L, wine drinkers 1.09 mg/L, liquor drinkers 1.28 mg/L, and combination drinkers 1.09 mg/L (p = 0.43). The association between alcohol and hs-CRP concentration appears to be mediated primarily by ethanol and was independent of the type of alcoholic beverage consumed once BMI was taken into account.
Division of Preventive Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
Emily B
EB
Levitan
Paul M
PM
Ridker
JoAnn E
JE
Manson
Meir J
MJ
Stampfer
Julie E
JE
Buring
Nancy R
NR
Cook
Simin
S
Liu
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000428:Alcohol Drinking; D000434:Alcoholic Beverages; D002097:C-Reactive Protein / Q000032:analysis*; D002492:Central Nervous System Depressants / Q000494:pharmacology; D000431:Ethanol / Q000494:pharmacology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged
D002492:Central Nervous System Depressants; D000431:Ethanol; D002097:C-Reactive Protein