This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.
Alcohol abuse increases CVD risk
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts
Alcohol abuse increases the risk for atrial fibrillation, MI, congestive HF and various CV risk factors, according to new data published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
Because studies rely on self-reported alcohol consumption, the CV effects of alcohol abuse are largely unknown in population-based research, according to the study background. But the new findings suggest that by reducing alcohol abuse, there may be a significant reduction in heart disease.
“We found that even if you have no underlying risk factors, abuse of alcohol still increases the risk of these heart conditions,” Gregory M. Marcus, MD, director of clinical research in the division of cardiology at the University of California, San Francisco, said in a press release.
Researchers used data from the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project to perform a longitudinal analysis of 14,727,591 California residents aged 21 years or older who received ambulatory surgery, emergency or inpatient medical care in California from 2005 to 2009.
Based on those data, the researchers evaluated the relationship between alcohol abuse and incident AF, MI and congestive HF, and took demographic data such as age, sex, race and income into account to determine the population-attributable risks.
Among the cohort, 1.8% were identified as having alcohol abuse (n = 268,084).
Elevated risk shown
Alcohol abuse was associated with increased risk for incident AF (HR = 2.14; 95% CI, 2.08-2.19), MI (HR = 1.45; 95% CI, 1.4-1.51) and congestive HF (HR = 2.34; 95% CI, 2.29-2.39), after multivariable adjustment for age, sex, race, income and presence of hypertension, diabetes, coronary disease, congestive HF, chronic kidney disease, valvular heart disease, dyslipidemia, current smoking, obesity and obstructive sleep apnea.
Patients who did not have conventional risk factors for CVD showed a significantly increased risk for each outcome in an interaction analysis. The population-attributable risk of alcohol abuse on each outcome was about the same as other well-recognized modifiable risk factors, Marcus and colleagues wrote.
“We were somewhat surprised to find those diagnosed with some form of alcohol abuse were at significantly higher risk [for MI],” Marcus said in the release. “We hope [these] data will temper the enthusiasm for drinking in excess and will avoid any justification for excessive drinking because people think it will be good for their heart. These data pretty clearly prove the opposite.”
Wishful thinking
In a related editorial, Michael H. Criqui, MD, MPH, and Isac C. Thomas, MD, from the department of family medicine and public health, University of California, San Diego, wrote that the study is consistent with previous research showing alcohol abuse is associated with AF, MI and congestive HF, and calls into question other prior results suggesting light or moderate drinking is cardioprotective.
“The recent infatuation with the potential benefits of light-to-moderate drinking for CVD protection appears to be based on observational and subtly confounded data, rather than [randomized controlled trial] evidence, and perhaps more than a little wishful thinking,” they wrote. – by Dave Quaile
Disclosure: The researchers, Criqui and Thomas report no relevant financial disclosures.
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts