Alcohol consumption and risk of cardiovascular disease among hypertensive women.
OBJECTIVE
This study investigated the relation between alcohol consumption and the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) among 10 530-hypertensive women from the EPIC-NL cohort.


RESULTS
Alcohol consumption was assessed using a validated food-frequency questionnaire and participants were followed for occurrence of CVD. During 9.4 years follow-up, we documented 580 coronary heart disease (CHD) events and 254 strokes, 165 of which were ischemic. An inverse association (Ptrend=0.009) between alcohol consumption and risk of CHD was observed with a multivariate-adjusted hazard ratio of 0.72 (95% confidence interval: 0.52-1.01) for those consuming 70-139.9 g alcohol/week compared to lifetime abstainers. Of different beverages, only red wine consumption was associated with a reduced risk of CHD. A U-shaped relation (P=0.08) was observed for total stroke with a hazard ratio of 0.65 (0.44-0.95) for consuming 5-69.9 g alcohol/week compared with lifetime abstainers. Similar results were observed for ischemic stroke with a hazard ratio of 0.56 (0.35-0.89) for consuming of 5-69.9 g alcohol/week.


CONCLUSIONS
We conclude that moderate alcohol consumption is associated with a reduced risk of CHD among hypertensive women. Light alcohol consumption tended to be related to a lower risk of stroke. Current guidelines for alcohol consumption in the general population also apply to hypertensive women.
Bos
Sarah
S
Julius Center for Health Sciences and Primary Care, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht , The Netherlands.
Grobbee
Diederick E
DE
Boer
Jolanda M A
JM
Verschuren
W Monique
WM
Beulens
Joline W J
JW
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000453:epidemiology; D000434:Alcoholic Beverages / Q000009:adverse effects*; D001515:Beer / Q000009:adverse effects; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D017408:Guidelines as Topic; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000150:complications* / Q000453:epidemiology; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D009426:Netherlands / Q000453:epidemiology; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012307:Risk Factors; D012737:Sex Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013997:Time Factors; D014920:Wine / Q000009:adverse effects; D016387:Women's Health