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Increasing alcohol consumption may be harmful to elderly hearts
In elderly people, increasing alcohol intake was associated with alterations of cardiac structure and function, particularly in women, according to new data from the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities study.
Researchers analyzed 4,466 participants from visit 5 of the ARIC study (mean age, 76 years; 60% women) who underwent transthoracic echocardiography. Former drinkers and people with significant valvular disease were excluded.
The researchers stratified participants into four categories based on self-reported alcohol intake: nondrinkers; ≤ 7 drinks per week; 7 to 14 drinks per week; and ≥ 14 drinks per week.
In the analysis, the researchers related alcohol intake to measures of cardiac structure and function, adjusted for covariates including age, BMI, diabetes, prior MI, antihypertensive treatment, systolic BP, smoking, education level and income level, and stratified by sex.
In both men and women, increasing alcohol intake was associated with larger left ventricular diastolic and systolic diameters and larger left atrial diameter (P < .05).
In men, increasing alcohol intake was associated with greater LV mass (8.2 g per consumption category; P = .029) and higher E/E′ ratio (0.82 per consumption category; P = .014), according to the results.
However, in women, increasing alcohol intake was associated with lower LV ejection fraction (–1.9% per consumption category; P = .002) and a trend toward worse LV global longitudinal strain (0.45% per consumption category; P = .07), the researchers wrote.
“In spite of potential benefits of low alcohol intake, our findings highlight possible hazards to cardiac structure and function by increased amounts of alcohol consumption in the elderly, particularly among women,” Alexandra Gonçalves, MD, PhD, postdoctoral research fellow in the cardiovascular division at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, said in a press release. “This reinforces the U.S. recommendations stating that those who drink should do so with moderation.” – by Erik Swain
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.