History of antihypertensive therapy influences the relationships of alcohol with blood pressure and pulse pressure in older men.
BACKGROUND
Blood pressure is known to be higher in heavy drinkers than in nondrinkers. The aim of this study was to determine whether the alcohol-blood pressure relationship is modified by therapy for hypertension in the elderly.


METHODS
Men aged > or = 65 years (n = 1,396) with or without current history of antihypertensive therapy were divided into four groups by alcohol intake (non-, light (<22 g ethanol/day), heavy (> or = 22 and <44 g ethanol/day), and very heavy (> or = 44 g ethanol/day) drinkers). Blood pressure and pulse pressure were compared among the groups.


RESULTS
Systolic blood pressure and pulse pressure were significantly higher in subjects receiving antihypertensive therapy than in subjects not receiving antihypertensive therapy, whereas diastolic blood pressure was not different between the two groups. In multivariate analysis with adjustment for age, smoking history, and body mass index (BMI), systolic and diastolic blood pressure and pulse pressure in the group not receiving antihypertensive therapy were significantly higher in heavy and very heavy drinkers than in nondrinkers, whereas in the group receiving antihypertensive therapy, systolic and diastolic blood pressure and pulse pressure were not different between each drinker group and the nondrinker group.


CONCLUSIONS
Alcohol intake was associated with blood pressure and pulse pressure in older men not receiving therapy for hypertension but not in those receiving antihypertensive therapy. The indicated possibility that changes in drinking do not have a substantial impact on blood pressure among treated hypertensives should be examined in longitudinal studies and preferably in clinical trials.
Wakabayashi
Ichiro
I
Department of Environmental and Preventive Medicine, Hyogo College of Medicine, Nishinomiya, Hyogo, Japan. wakabaya@hyo-med.ac.jp
D000368:Aged; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000097:blood*; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000503:physiopathology*; D000959:Antihypertensive Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000502:physiology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003971:Diastole; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000097:blood / Q000188:drug therapy*; D008297:Male; D011674:Pulse; D013599:Systole
D000959:Antihypertensive Agents