Abstract
Alcohol may have a beneficial effect on coronary heart disease (CHD) that could be
mediated by elevation of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDLC). Data on alcohol
consumption and blood lipids in coronary patients are scarce. We studied whether total
ethanol intake and consumption of specific types of beverages are associated with
blood lipids in older subjects with CHD. Blood lipids were measured in 1052 myocardial
infarction patients aged 60 to 80 years (78% male). Intake of alcoholic beverages,
total ethanol, and macronutrients was assessed by food frequency questionnaire. Seventy
percent of the subjects used lipid-lowering medication. Total cholesterol was on average
5.14 mmol/L, and HDLC was on average 1.28 mmol/L. Among men, total ethanol intake
was positively associated with HDLC (difference of 0.094 mmol/L for ≥15 g/d vs 0 g/d,
P = .024), whereas the association with HDLC among women was not significant (difference
of 0.060 mmol/L for ≥5 g/d vs 0 g/d, P = .560) after adjustment for dietary, lifestyle, and CHD risk factors. Liquor consumption
was weakly positively associated with HDLC in men (P = .045). Beer consumption in men and wine consumption in women were also positively
associated with HDLC, but were not significant in the fully adjusted model. In conclusion,
moderate alcohol consumption may elevate HDLC in treated post–myocardial infarction
patients. This may be due to ethanol and not to other beneficial substances in alcoholic
beverages. Based on this finding, further research needs to be done to examine the
effects of the residual substances from different types of alcoholic beverages on
HDLC.
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Article info
Publication history
Accepted:
April 7,
2008
Received:
January 26,
2008
Identification
Copyright
© 2008 Elsevier Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
