title: Alcohol drinking patterns and biomarkers of coronary risk in the Spanish population.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To estimate the association between patterns of alcohol consumption and biomarkers of coronary heart disease (CHD) risk.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Cross-sectional study among 10,793 individuals representative of the Spanish population aged ≥ 18 years. The threshold between moderate and heavy drinking was 40 g of alcohol/day in men and 24 g/day in women. Binge drinking was defined as intake of ≥ 80 g of alcohol in men and ≥ 60 g in women at any drinking occasion in the preceding 30 days. Analyses were performed with generalized linear models with adjustment for the main confounders, and results were expressed as the percentage change in the geometric mean (PCGM). Compared to non-drinkers, moderate and heavy drinkers had progressively higher serum HDL-cholesterol, with a PCGM ranging from 4.8% (95% CI: 3.7-6.0%) in moderate drinkers without binge drinking (MNB) to 9.6% (5.1-14.2%) in heavy drinkers with binge drinking (HB). Fibrinogen decreased progressively with alcohol intake, from -2.2% (-3.1 to -1.3%) in MNB to -5.8% (-9.4 to -2.0%) in HB. Leptin, glycated hemoglobin and the HOMA-index also decreased with increasing alcohol intake, and particularly with binge drinking.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Moderate alcohol intake is associated with improved HDL-cholesterol, fibrinogen and markers of glucose metabolism, which is consistent with the reduced CHD risk of moderate drinkers in many studies. Heavy and binge drinking were also associated with favorable levels of CHD biomarkers; since these drinking patterns produce substantial health harms, our results should not be used to promote alcohol consumption.
authors.affiliation: National Centre for Epidemiology, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain; Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, School of Medicine, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid/IdiPAZ, Madrid, Spain. Electronic address: igalan@isciii.es.
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Galán
authors.affiliation: Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, School of Medicine, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid/IdiPAZ, Madrid, Spain; CIBERESP, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: J L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Valencia-Martín
authors.affiliation: Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, School of Medicine, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid/IdiPAZ, Madrid, Spain; CIBERESP, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Guallar-Castillón
authors.affiliation: Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, School of Medicine, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid/IdiPAZ, Madrid, Spain; CIBERESP, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Rodríguez-Artalejo
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000097:blood* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D000435:Alcoholic Intoxication / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood*; D001786:Blood Glucose / Q000378:metabolism; D008076:Cholesterol, HDL / Q000097:blood; D003327:Coronary Disease / Q000453:epidemiology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D005340:Fibrinogen / Q000378:metabolism; D006442:Glycated Hemoglobin / Q000378:metabolism; D006706:Homeostasis; D006801:Humans; D007333:Insulin Resistance; D020738:Leptin / Q000097:blood; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012307:Risk Factors; D013030:Spain / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D001786:Blood Glucose; D008076:Cholesterol, HDL; D005340:Fibrinogen; D006442:Glycated Hemoglobin; D020738:Leptin
keywords: Alcohol; Biomarkers; Coronary heart disease; Drinking patterns