Alcohol and Hypertension

Abstract

in which some of the key issues surrounding the topic were discussed. Compared with lifetime abstainers, those who reported drinking on a daily basis or apart from food had a significantly higher risk of hypertension, but this effect disappeared after accounting for the amount of alcohol consumed in the previous 30 days. When current drinkers only were studied and adjustment made for the amount of alcohol consumed in the previous 30 days, the risk of being hypertensive increased (64%) only in those who said they drank without food. Preference for any one type of beverage did not influence the association but the important potential confounder of dietary habits was not assessed. Nevertheless this finding was consistent with an earlier study of Italian wine drinkers coming from a different cultural background,4 and a follow-up in that population showed drinking alcohol outside of meals was associated with higher risk of death from all causes and cardiovascular disease. Similar relationships were seen between drinking outside of meals or snacks and increased risk of myocardial infarction in a recent case control study in men.5