Alcohol consumption and its relation to lipid-based cardiovascular risk factors among middle-aged women: the role of HDL 3 cholesterol

Abstract

To study the association of alcohol consumption and lipid-based cardiovascular risk factors among middle-age women, cross-sectional analysis among 274 middle-aged healthy women with different drinking habits and a follow-up analysis of alcoholic women during abstinence was performed. Serum total cholesterol, low and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL and HDL cholesterol), triglycerides (TG), apolipoproteins A1 (Apo A1) and B (Apo B), and HDL-cholesterol subfractions 2 (HDL 2) and 3 (HDL 3) were measured. All lipid values except LDL cholesterol positively correlated with self-reported alcohol consumption. When alcoholics were excluded the correlation was significant only for HDL cholesterol, HDL 3, and Apo A1. The increasing trend of HDL cholesterol, HDL 3 and Apo A1 were clearly seen first in women consuming >20–40 g/day of absolute alcohol. Alcohol consumption >40 g/day increased all lipid values except LDL cholesterol. Abstinence for 2 weeks caused a significant decrease in HDL 3 cholesterol, and an increase in LDL cholesterol and Apo B. The results indicate that among middle-aged women the Apo A1 and HDL cholesterol via its HDL 3 but not HDL 2 subfraction might play a role in the beneficial coronary consequences associated with moderate alcohol consumption. However, the increasing beneficial trend first appears when daily drinking exceeds 20 g/day.