January 12, 1987Acta Medica Scandinavica
Alcoholic Intemperance, Coronary Heart Disease and Mortality in Middle‐aged Swedish Men
Why the study?
Does alcohol abuse increase the risk of general and cause-specific mortality, including coronary heart disease, in middle-aged men?
Population
10,004 middle-aged Swedish men, including 1,116 (11%) registered for alcoholic problems.
Comparison
Alcohol abuse vs Non-registered men (no alcohol abuse registration)
Design
Cohort
Follow-up
11.8 years
Authors
Discussion
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Implication
Alcohol abuse was associated with higher mortality; extends risk data but leaves open whether reduction improves outcomes.
Key Points
- To assess the association between alcohol abuse and general as well as cause-specific mortality, with a focus on coronary heart disease, in a general population cohort.
- Prospective cohort study tracking 10,004 middle-aged Swedish men over an 11.8-year follow-up period.
- Alcohol abuse was defined via official social authority registrations, categorizing participants into non-registered (n=8,888), occasional drunkenness convictions, and heavy abusers (total registered n=1,116; 11%).
- Cause-specific and total mortality rates were tracked and evaluated for independent associations with registration status.
- Total mortality reached 10.4% in non-registered men, 20.5% in men with occasional convictions, and 29.6% in heavy alcohol abusers.
- Total coronary heart disease mortality was significantly and independently elevated in registered men, with nearly all excess cardiac deaths driven by sudden coronary death rather than definite recent myocardial infarction.
- Excess mortality among alcohol-registered men was primarily driven by coronary heart disease (20.1%), violent death (18.1%), alcoholism alone (13.6%), and liver cirrhosis (11.1%), alongside a sevenfold increase in combined oropharyngeal and oesophageal cancers.
Structured PICO
Does alcohol abuse increase the risk of general and cause-specific mortality, including coronary heart disease, in middle-aged men?
P
Population
10,004 middle-aged Swedish men, including 1,116 (11%) registered for alcoholic problems.
I
Intervention
Alcohol abuse (indicated by registration with social authorities for alcoholic problems, including occasional convictions for drunkenness and heavy abuse)
C
Comparator
Non-registered men (no alcohol abuse registration)
O
Outcome
General and cause-specific mortality (including coronary heart disease, sudden coronary death, cancer, pulmonary embolism, pneumonia, peptic ulcer, liver cirrhosis, and alcoholism)hard clinical
Alcohol abuse is strongly associated with increased total mortality and sudden coronary death in middle-aged men, highlighting the cardiovascular risks of heavy alcohol consumption.
Cite This Study
Rosengren et al. (1987) studied this question.