title: Effects of habitual alcohol intake on ambulatory blood pressure, heart rate, and its variability among Japanese men.
abstract: We sought to examine effects of habitual alcohol intake on ambulatory blood pressure (BP), heart rate (HR), and HR variability among Japanese men. Subjects were 539 men aged 35 to 65 years from rural and urban communities. Ambulatory BP and HR were monitored with an automated, portable, noninvasive multibiomedical recorder. Power spectral analysis of the RR intervals on the ECG was performed every 5 minutes. Compared with nondrinkers, moderate drinkers (alcohol intake 23 to 45 g/d) and heavy drinkers (alcohol intake >or=46 g/d) showed higher age- and field-adjusted mean values of systolic and diastolic BPs during the morning and while awake, but there were no differences in BPs over 24-hour periods and while asleep among the alcohol intake categories. Alcohol intake was positively associated with mean values of sleep-morning differences and daytime variability in BPs, HRs while awake and asleep, and low frequency:high frequency ratio while asleep. The results were virtually unchanged after adjustment for body mass index, smoking, and diabetes mellitus. Compared with the nondrinkers, age- and field-adjusted odds ratios of the morning BP surge (excess elevation of BP in the morning: morning systolic BP minus sleep systolic BP >or=37 mm Hg) for light (alcohol intake 0 to 22 g/d), moderate, and heavy drinkers were 0.96 (95% CI: 0.34 to 2.78), 1.68 (95% CI: 0.64 to 4.38), and 2.73 (95% CI: 1.12 to 6.67), respectively. Habitual alcohol intake was associated with increased BP in the morning, HR while awake and asleep, and sympathetic activity while asleep, which may explain some of the mechanisms of the relationship between heavy alcohol intake and risk of cardiovascular diseases.
authors.affiliation: Department of Social and Environmental Medicine, Osaka University, 2-2 Yamadaoka, Suita, Osaka 565-0871. fwge1119@mb.infoweb.ne.jp
authors.forename: Tetsuya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ohira
authors.forename: Takeshi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tanigawa
authors.forename: Minako
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tabata
authors.forename: Hironori
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Imano
authors.forename: Akihiko
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kitamura
authors.forename: Masahiko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kiyama
authors.forename: Shinichi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sato
authors.forename: Tomonori
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Okamura
authors.forename: Renzhe
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Cui
authors.forename: Kazuko A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Koike
authors.forename: Takashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Shimamoto
authors.forename: Hiroyasu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Iso
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000208:ethnology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000502:physiology*; D018660:Blood Pressure Monitoring, Ambulatory; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000208:ethnology / Q000503:physiopathology; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002940:Circadian Rhythm / Q000502:physiology*; D006339:Heart Rate / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D006854:Hydrocortisone / Q000378:metabolism; D006973:Hypertension / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000208:ethnology / Q000503:physiopathology; D015994:Incidence; D007328:Insulin / Q000097:blood; D007564:Japan; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012307:Risk Factors
chemical_list: D007328:Insulin; D006854:Hydrocortisone