title: Alcohol Consumption and Cardiac Biomarkers: The Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) Study.
abstract: The role of alcohol in the development of subclinical cardiovascular disease is unclear. We examined the association between alcohol consumption and markers of subclinical cardiac damage and wall stress.
  
  
  
  We studied the cross-sectional and prospective associations of alcohol consumption with high-sensitivity cardiac troponin T (hs-cTnT) and N-terminal pro B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) measured at 2 time points, 6 years apart (baseline, 1990-1992; follow-up, 1996-1998), in over 11000 participants of the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) Study with no history of cardiovascular disease. Alcohol consumption was categorized as follows: never, former, current: ≤1, 2-7, 8-14, and ≥15 drinks/week.
  
  
  
  Compared to never drinkers, persons who consumed 2-7 drinks per week were less likely to have increased hs-cTnT (≥14 ng/L) at baseline (odds ratio = 0.67, 95% CI, 0.46-0.96), and had a lower risk of incident increases in hs-cTnT at follow-up (relative risk = 0.70, 95% CI, 0.49-1.00). Conversely, there was a positive association between alcohol intake and NT-proBNP concentrations at baseline. Consumption of ≥15 drinks/week was positively associated with incident increases in NT-proBNP (≥300 pg/mL) at the 6-year follow-up visit (relative risk = 2.38, 95% CI, 1.43-3.96).
  
  
  
  In this community-based study of middle-aged adults without a history of cardiovascular disease, moderate drinking was associated with lower concentrations of hs-cTnT, a marker of chronic subclinical myocardial damage, and positively associated with NT-proBNP, a biomarker of cardiac wall stress. Our results suggest that the cardiac effects of alcohol are complex. Cardiac biomarkers may help improve our understanding of the full cardiovascular effects of alcohol consumption.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Division of General Internal Medicine, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD; Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD; mlazo@jhu.edu.
authors.forename: Mariana
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lazo
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD;
authors.forename: Yuan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD; Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins Ciccarone Center for the Prevention of Heart Disease, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD;
authors.forename: John W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: McEvoy
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD; Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins Ciccarone Center for the Prevention of Heart Disease, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD;
authors.forename: Chiadi
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ndumele
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Cardiovascular Division, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN;
authors.forename: Suma
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Konety
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Section of Atherosclerosis and Vascular Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX.
authors.forename: Christie M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Ballantyne
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD;
authors.forename: A Richey
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Sharrett
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Division of General Internal Medicine, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD; Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD;
authors.forename: Elizabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Selvin
mesh_terms: D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000097:blood*; D050197:Atherosclerosis / Q000097:blood*; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000097:blood*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D020097:Natriuretic Peptide, Brain / Q000097:blood*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D020107:Troponin T / Q000097:blood*
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D020107:Troponin T; D020097:Natriuretic Peptide, Brain