title: Relationships Between Current and Past Binge Drinking and Systolic Blood Pressure in Young Adults.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Heavy episodic (i.e., "binge") drinking (i.e., ≥five drinks/occasion) is highly prevalent among young adults; those who binge do so four times per month on average, consuming nine drinks on average on each occasion. Although it is well established that chronic heavy drinking (≥two alcoholic beverages per day) increases the risk of hypertension, the relationship between binge drinking and blood pressure is not well described. Our aim was to describe the relationship between frequency of binge drinking, both current (at age 24 years) and past (at age 20 years), and systolic blood pressure (SBP) at age 24 years.
  
  
  METHODS
  Participants (n = 756) from the longitudinal Nicotine Dependence in Teens study reported alcohol consumption at ages 20 and 24 years and had SBP measured at age 24 years. We examined the association between binge drinking and SBP using multiple linear regression, controlling for sex, race/ethnicity, education, monthly drinking in high school, cigarette smoking, and body mass index.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Compared to nonbinge drinkers, SBP at age 24 years was 2.61 [.41, 4.82] mm Hg higher among current monthly bingers and 4.03 [1.35, 6.70] mm Hg higher among current weekly bingers. SBP at age 24 years was 2.90 [.54, 5.25] mm Hg higher among monthly bingers at age 20 years and 3.64 [.93, 6.35] mm Hg higher among weekly bingers at age 20 years, compared to nonbinge drinkers.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Frequent binge drinking at ages 20 and 24 years is associated with higher SBP at age 24 years and may be implicated in the development of hypertension.
authors.affiliation: Department of Family Medicine and Community Health, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, Massachusetts.
authors.forename: Robert J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Wellman
authors.affiliation: Student Health Service and Department of Community and Family Medicine, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina.
authors.forename: John A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Vaughn
authors.affiliation: Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, University of Montréal, Montreal, Québec, Canada; Centre de Recherche du Centre Hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal, Montreal, Québec, Canada.
authors.forename: Marie-Pierre
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Sylvestre
authors.affiliation: Centre de Recherche du Centre Hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal, Montreal, Québec, Canada; INDI Department, Concordia University, Montreal, Québec, Canada.
authors.forename: Erin K
authors.initials: EK
authors.lastname: O'Loughlin
authors.affiliation: Centre de Recherche du Centre Hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal, Montreal, Québec, Canada.
authors.forename: Erika N
authors.initials: EN
authors.lastname: Dugas
authors.affiliation: Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, University of Montréal, Montreal, Québec, Canada; Centre de Recherche du Centre Hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal, Montreal, Québec, Canada. Electronic address: jennifer.oloughlin@umontreal.ca.
authors.forename: Jennifer L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: O'Loughlin
mesh_terms: D063425:Binge Drinking / Q000150:complications / Q000503:physiopathology*; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000502:physiology*; D015992:Body Mass Index; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000209:etiology*; D008297:Male; D012737:Sex Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Alcohol drinking; Longitudinal studies; Systolic blood pressure; Young adult