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Moderate alcohol intake likely increases AF incidence in patients with CVD
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Moderate to high alcohol consumption appears to increase the risk for atrial fibrillation in adults aged at least 55 years who already have CVD or advanced diabetes, researchers reported.
Data from the ONTARGET and TRANSCEND antihypertensive drug treatment trials were analyzed. More than 30,000 people aged older than 55 years from 40 countries were included in the studies. Participants had history of CVD or advanced diabetes with end-organ damage, none had AF at baseline and all were enrolled between November 2001 and May 2004 with a mean follow-up of 56 months. Researchers classified alcohol consumption as low (61.7% of participants), moderate (36.6%) and high (1.7%).
At follow-up, researchers found those with higher levels of alcohol consumption had a greater incidence of AF compared with those who consumed less alcohol (adjusted HR=1.14; 95% CI, 1.04-1.26 for moderate consumption and HR=1.32; 95% CI, 0.97-1.80 for high consumption). After excluding for binge drinking, results remained similar.
Among patients who consumed moderate amounts of alcohol, binge drinkers were at increased risk for AF compared with non-binge drinkers (adjusted HR=1.29, 95% CI, 1.02-1.62).
The researchers calculated an age- and sex-standardized incidence rate of 14.5 per 1,000 person-years for patients with low levels of alcohol consumption, 17.3 per 1,000 person-years for patients with moderate levels of alcohol consumption and 20.8 per 1,000 person-years for patients with high levels of alcohol consumption.
“Because drinking moderate quantities of alcohol was common in our study (36.6% of participants), our findings suggest that the effect of increased alcohol consumption, even in moderate amounts, on the risk of AF among patients with existing CVD may be considerable,” the researchers concluded.
Disclosure: Fagard, Lonn, Sleight, Teo and Yusuf received consulting and speaker fees and research grants from Boehringer Ingelheim during the conduct of the ONTARGET and TRANSCEND trials. The other researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.
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