title: A cross-sectional analysis of the relationship between daily alcohol consumption and serum adiponectin levels among adults aged 40 years or more in a rural area of Korea.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Light-to-moderate alcohol consumption has been proposed to raise serum adiponectin levels, but this view is controversial. There is little information on the effect of heavy drinking. The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between alcohol consumption and serum adiponectin levels in healthy Koreans.
  
  
  METHODS
  The design of the study was cross-sectional, using data from the Korean Multi-Rural Communities Cohort Study (MRCohort), which is a part of the Korean Genome Epidemiology Study (KoGES). The subjects were 1542 individuals (635 men and 907 women) aged ≥ 40 years who were recruited in Yangpyeong-Gun, Kyunggi province, South Korea, in 2005 and 2006. Daily alcohol consumption was calculated from average frequency of alcohol consumption and the amount of alcohol consumed per occasion using a structured questionnaire and serum adiponectin levels were measured.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Although adiponectin levels appeared to be higher in those consuming moderate levels of alcohol than in nondrinkers, the difference was not statistically significant. Heavy drinking (≥ 90.0 g/day) was significantly related to reduced serum adiponectin levels (P=0.003), although the significance of the relationship was reduced after adjusting for potential confounders (P=0.061) such as age, waist/hip ratio, blood pressure, fasting blood glucose, current smoker, higher education, protein intake, vitamin C intake and vitamin E intake in men. The relation seemed to be stronger in individuals consuming alcohol in the form of takju (Korean rice wine; P=0.022).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Heavy alcohol drinking (≥ 90.0 g/day) may be related to lower serum adiponectin levels in Korean men.
authors.affiliation: Department of Preventive Medicine, College of Medicine, Hanyang University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: S K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Jung
authors.forename: M K
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Shin
authors.forename: B Y
authors.initials: BY
authors.lastname: Choi
mesh_terms: D052242:Adiponectin / Q000097:blood*; D000368:Aged; D000428:Alcohol Drinking; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D000431:Ethanol / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012275:Oryza; D056910:Republic of Korea; D012424:Rural Population; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014920:Wine
chemical_list: D052242:Adiponectin; D000431:Ethanol