Effects of alcohol consumption on cardiovascular events in male patients with healed myocardial infarction.
BACKGROUND
In Western countries, many studies have shown that among healthy people moderate drinkers have a lower incidence of cardiovascular events than abstainers and heavy drinkers. However, it is not clear whether this is true in patients with a healed myocardial infarction (MI).


RESULTS
In the present study cardiovascular events were defined as cardiac events or strokes. Male patients only were included because the incidence of cardiovascular events is low in females. In patients younger than 65 years, the incidence of cardiovascular events was 34.6 persons per year (54 cases: 3.9%) of abstainers, 17.4 persons per year (20 cases: 1.9%) of moderate drinkers (p<0.01 vs abstainers) and 30.3 s persons per year (18 cases: 3.2%) of heavy drinkers. However, in those aged 65 years or older, the incidence was 47.8 persons per year (24 cases: 4.5%) of abstainers, 58.4 persons per year (14 cases: 5.6%) of moderate drinkers, and 314.8 persons per year (12 cases: 19.7%) of heavy drinkers. In this age group, cardiovascular events were significantly higher in heavy drinkers than in the other 2 groups (p<0.01), and the incidence was not lower in the moderate drinkers than in abstainers as shown in the younger group.


CONCLUSIONS
In patients younger than 65 years with a healed MI, drinking limited less than 30 ml/day (moderate intake) reduces the incidence of cardiovascular events, but not in those aged 65 years or older.
Masunaga
Nobutaka
N
Division of Cardiology, Department of Internal Medicine, Kinki University School of Medicine, Osakasayama, Japan.
Kimura
Akio
A
Miyataka
Masaru
M
Nishioka
Norio
N
Hirano
Yutaka
Y
Hayashi
Takahiro
T
Ishikawa
Kinji
K
D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000453:epidemiology*; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology*; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007564:Japan / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009203:Myocardial Infarction / Q000150:complications*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors