Abstract
Purpose: Alcohol use and cholesterol are related in men and postmenopausal women but relations between alcohol use and cholesterol are unclear for premenopausal women. The purpose of this study was to determine whether alcohol use was related to cholesterol in women aged 40-51 years old. Methods: This cross-sectional analysis used 2015 data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) for females aged 40-51 years old from Louisiana, Michigan, Nevada, and Tennessee. Multiple logistic regression analysis was used to assess the relationship between high cholesterol and alcohol use while controlling for high blood pressure, diabetes, weight status, daily fruit and vegetable intake, physical activity, tobacco use, age, and ethnicity/ race. Results: Across states, approximately one-third of women reported being diagnosed with high cholesterol (25-36%) and about half reported any alcohol use (36-55%). The results of adjusted analysis indicated that high cholesterol was not significantly related to alcohol use in three of four states. However, high cholesterol was significantly related to blood pressure in all four states with moderate to large effect sizes, and to weight status and tobacco use in three of four states with moderate to large effect sizes. Conclusion: The results of this study indicate that high cholesterol is not related to alcohol use in females aged 40-51 years old, but is moderately to highly relate to high blood pressure, weight status, and tobacco use. For premenopausal women in a primary care setting, about one-third may have high cholesterol, and because high cholesterol, high blood pressure, overweight or obese, and smoking are moderately to highly related, it is recommended to screen for all four if symptoms of any are present and educate and treat as comorbid conditions.
Highlights
Increased serum cholesterol levels is a major risk factor for coronary heart disease (CHD) [1], and over seventy-one million American adults have high cholesterol (27%) [2,3]
The results of this study indicate that high cholesterol is not related to alcohol use in females aged 40-51 years old, but is moderately to highly relate to high blood pressure, weight status, and tobacco use
Many studies suggest the relationship between alcohol consumption and cholesterol follows a dose-response, J-shaped curve: the risk for high cholesterol is higher with abstinence, lower with moderate consumption, and the highest with heavy consumption [1,5,11,12,13]
Summary
Increased serum cholesterol levels is a major risk factor for coronary heart disease (CHD) [1], and over seventy-one million American adults have high cholesterol (27%) [2,3]. In American women, cholesterol levels have been shown to increase with age, and nearly 1 in 2 American women has high or borderline high cholesterol [4]. Many studies have linked the development of high cholesterol with health behaviors, such as tobacco use, diet, weight status, and physical activity [5,6,7]. Diets high in saturated fatty acids and total fat have been shown to increase cholesterol levels [7]. Weight reduction and increased physical activity for those who are obese or overweight has been shown to lower cholesterol, blood pressure, and insulin resistance [1,7]. High cholesterol differs by demographic factors such as age, gender, and ethnicity [10,11]
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