Alcohol consumption and coronary artery calcium in middle-aged Japanese men.
Epidemiologic studies have investigated the relation between alcohol intake and coronary calcification, with controversial results. Furthermore, the influence of heavy drinking has not been well elucidated. In the present study, a random sample of community-based Japanese men aged 40 to 49 years without a history of cardiovascular disease (n=245) were examined for coronary artery calcium (CAC) determined by electron-beam computed tomography and drinking status. There was a J-shaped association between alcohol intake and CAC. There was an increase of CAC in heavy drinkers (>or=46 g/day), and participants who were drinking>or=69 g/day showed a significant increase in CAC compared with never drinkers after adjusting for other cardiovascular risk factors.
Okamura
Tomonori
T
Department of Health Science, Shiga University of Medical Science, and Department of Medicine, Kohka Public Hospital, Shiga, Japan. tokamura@belle.shiga-med.ac.jp
Kadowaki
Takashi
T
Sekikawa
Akira
A
Murata
Kiyoshi
K
Miyamatsu
Naomi
N
Nakamura
Yasuyuki
Y
El-Saed
Aiman
A
Kashiwagi
Atsunori
A
Maegawa
Hiroshi
H
Nishio
Yoshihiko
Y
Takamiya
Tomoko
T
Kanda
Hideyuki
H
Mitsunami
Kenichi
K
Kita
Yoshikuni
Y
Edmundowicz
Daniel
D
Tamaki
Shinji
S
Tsujita
Yasuyuki
Y
Kuller
Lewis H
LH
Ueshima
Hirotsugu
H
D000328:Adult; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000453:epidemiology*; D002114:Calcinosis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D003327:Coronary Disease / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007564:Japan / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012307:Risk Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed