Key result
Moderate alcohol consumption was associated with a lower 30-month progression of mean carotid intima-media thickness (median difference -0.006 mm/year) compared to very-low consumption in adults at high cardiovascular risk.
Why the study?
The association between alcohol consumption and subclinical atherosclerosis remains unclear.
Does moderate alcohol consumption reduce carotid subclinical atherosclerosis and its progression in adults with high CVD risk?
Cohort (n=3,703)
Yes
Does moderate alcohol consumption reduce carotid subclinical atherosclerosis and its progression in adults with high CVD risk?
In a high-risk European cohort, moderate alcohol consumption was associated with lower baseline carotid intima-media thickness and reduced 30-month progression compared to very low consumption.
Moderate alcohol intake was associated with slower C-IMT progression in high-risk adults; leaves open causality and should not yet change practice.
Background/Aim The association between alcohol consumption and subclinical atherosclerosis is still unclear. Using data from a European multicentre study, we assess subclinical atherosclerosis and its 30-month progression by carotid intima-media thickness (C-IMT) measurements, and correlate this information with self-reported data on alcohol consumption. Methods Between 2002–2004, 1772 men and 1931 women aged 54–79 years with at least three risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CVD) were recruited in Italy, France, Netherlands, Sweden, and Finland. Self-reported alcohol consumption, assessed at baseline, was categorized as follows: none (0 g/d), very-low (0 − 5 g/d), low (> 5 to ≤ 10 g/d), moderate (> 10 to ≤ 20 g/d for women, > 10 to ≤ 30 g/d for men) and high (> 20 g/d for women, > 30 g/d for men). C-IMT was measured in millimeters at baseline and after 30 months. Measurements consisted of the mean and maximum values of the common carotids (CC), internal carotid artery (ICA), and bifurcations (Bif) and whole carotid tree. We used quantile regression to describe the associations between C-IMT measures and alcohol consumption categories, adjusting for sex, age, physical activity, education, smoking, diet, and latitude. Results Adjusted differences between median C-IMT values in different levels of alcohol consumption (vs. very-low) showed that moderate alcohol consumption was associated with lower C-IMTmax[− 0.17(95%CI − 0.32; − 0.02)], and Bif-IMTmean[− 0.07(95%CI − 0.13; − 0.01)] at baseline and decreasing C-IMTmean[− 0.006 (95%CI − 0.011; − 0.000)], Bif-IMTmean[− 0.016(95%CI − 0.027; − 0.005)], ICA-IMTmean[− 0.009(95% − 0.016; − 0.002)] and ICA-IMTmax[− 0.016(95%: − 0.032; − 0.000)] after 30 months. There was no evidence of departure from linearity in the association between alcohol consumption and C-IMT. Conclusion In this European population at high risk of CVD, findings show an inverse relation between moderate alcohol consumption and carotid subclinical atherosclerosis and its 30-month progression, independently of several potential confounders.
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Laguzzi et al. (2020) conducted a cohort in High risk of cardiovascular disease (n=3,703). Alcohol consumption vs. Very-low alcohol consumption (0-5 g/d) was evaluated on 30-month progression of mean carotid intima-media thickness (C-IMT mean) (Median difference -0.006, 95% CI -0.011 to 0.000). Moderate alcohol consumption was associated with a lower 30-month progression of mean carotid intima-media thickness (median difference -0.006 mm/year) compared to very-low consumption in adults at high cardiovascular risk.
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