Associations between lung function and alcohol consumption - Assessed by a questionnaire (AUDIT-C) and carbohydrate deficient transferrine (CDT)

Background: Studies on the impact of self-reported alcohol consumption on lung function have shown conflicting results. This study complemented a validated alcohol questionnaire (AUDIT-C) with a serum marker of heavy alcohol consumption (CDT), and examined potential associations with a broad set of lung physiological variables. Methods: The study population comprised 450 subjects from a previous epidemiological respiratory questionnaire study. In this study, they answered AUDIT-C to discriminate between moderate and hazardous alcohol consumption and underwent spirometry, body plethysmography, and measurements of diffusing capacity for CO (DL,CO). CDT and C-reactive protein were measured. CDT≥2.0% was used to discriminate between moderate and heavy drinking. For adjusted comparisons multivariate linear regression analyses were used. Results: The non-drinkers consisted of 29 subjects and the drinkers of 407 subjects. Using AUDIT-C, 224 hazardous drinkers were identified. Using CDT, 34 heavy drinkers were identified. For moderate and hazardous drinkers no differences concerning lung function or respiratory symptoms were seen. Heavy drinkers had lower DL,CO and more respiratory symptoms than moderate drinkers (p=0.001-0.012). After adjustments for pack years and CRP the difference in DL,CO (p=0.037) remained. An association between CDT and both FEV1 and DL,CO was seen among all drinkers after adjustments for pack years and CRP (p=0.004-0.012). Conclusion: Among drinkers, a higher CDT was independently associated with lower FEV1 and DL,CO. Our findings indicate an independent, negative effect of heavy drinking on lung function.