Copyright © 2005 by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
ORIGINAL CONTRIBUTIONS |
Alcohol Consumption, Binge Drinking, and Early Coronary Calcification: Findings from the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) Study
1 Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA.
2 Division of General Internal Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA.
3 Division of Cardiology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA.
4 Division of Preventive Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL.
5 Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Birmingham, AL.
6 Division of Research, Kaiser Permanente, Oakland, CA.
It is unclear to what extent the apparently beneficial cardiovascular effects of moderate alcohol consumption are mediated by protection against atherosclerosis. Alcohol consumption, coronary heart disease risk factors, and coronary calcification (a marker of atherosclerosis) were measured during 15 years of follow-up in the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) Study (1985–2001). Among 3,037 participants aged 33–45 years after follow-up (55% women, 45% Black), the prevalence of coronary calcification was 8% for consumption of 0 drinks/week (n = 1,435), 9% for 1–6 drinks/week (n = 1,023), 13% for 7–13 drinks/week (n = 341), and 19% for 
14 drinks/week (n = 238) (p < 0.001 for trend). Calcification was also more common among binge drinkers (odds ratio = 2.1, 95% confidence interval: 1.6, 2.7). These associations persisted after adjustment for potential confounders (age, gender/ethnicity, income, physical activity, family history, body mass index, smoking) and intermediary factors (lipids, blood pressure, glucose, C-reactive protein, and fibrinogen). Stratification showed the dose-response relation most clearly in Black men; only heavier alcohol consumption (14 drinks/week) was associated with coronary calcification in other race/sex subgroups. These surprising findings suggest the presence of proatherogenic effects of alcohol in young adults, especially Black men, which may counterbalance high density lipoprotein cholesterol elevation and other possible benefits of alcohol consumption.
alcohol drinking; calcification, physiologic; calcium; coronary arteriosclerosis; coronary disease; ethanol; heart diseases
Abbreviations: CARDIA, Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults; CI, confidence interval; HU, Hounsfield units; NHANES, National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey; OR, odds ratio.
Correspondence to Dr. Mark Pletcher, 500 Parnassus Avenue, MU 420W, Box 0560, San Francisco, CA 94143-0560 (e-mail: mpletcher{at}epi.ucsf.edu).
CiteULike 
Connotea 
Del.icio.us What's this?
This article has been cited by other articles:
|
|
 |
|
  P. Mathurin and P. Deltenre Effect of binge drinking on the liver: an alarming public health issue? Gut, May 1, 2009; 58(5): 613 - 617. [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 R. L McClelland, D. E Bild, G. L Burke, K. J Mukamal, J. A Lima, and R. A Kronmal Alcohol and coronary artery calcium prevalence, incidence, and progression: results from the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA) Am. J. Clinical Nutrition, December 1, 2008; 88(6): 1593 - 1601. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 R M Viner and B Taylor Adult outcomes of binge drinking in adolescence: findings from a UK national birth cohort J Epidemiol Community Health, October 1, 2007; 61(10): 902 - 907. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 M. Kivimaki, D. A. Lawlor, G. D. Smith, A. Kouvonen, M. Virtanen, M. Elovainio, and J. Vahtera Socioeconomic Position, Co-Occurrence of Behavior-Related Risk Factors, and Coronary Heart Disease: the Finnish Public Sector Study Am J Public Health, May 1, 2007; 97(5): 874 - 879. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 A. Sekikawa, H. Ueshima, T. Kadowaki, A. El-Saed, T. Okamura, T. Takamiya, A. Kashiwagi, D. Edmundowicz, K. Murata, K. Sutton-Tyrrell, et al. Less Subclinical Atherosclerosis in Japanese Men in Japan than in White Men in the United States in the Post-World War II Birth Cohort Am. J. Epidemiol., March 15, 2007; 165(6): 617 - 624. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
V. Culic RE: "ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION, BINGE DRINKING, AND EARLY CORONARY CALCIFICATION: FINDINGS FROM THE CORONARY ARTERY RISK DEVELOPMENT IN YOUNG ADULTS (CARDIA) STUDY" Am. J. Epidemiol., August 15, 2005; 162(4): 391 - 392. [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|