Alcohol Consumption and Cardiovascular Disease Risk: Placing New Data in Context

Abstract

Purpose of Review A clear link between excessive alcohol consumption and cardiovascular disease (CVD) has been established, but no consensus exists on the effects of moderate alcohol consumption on CVD. Recent Findings A lower risk of coronary heart disease and myocardial infarction among moderate drinkers compared to abstainers has been consistently observed in epidemiological studies and meta-analyses of these studies. However, ambiguity remains on the effect of alcohol on other CVDs and all-cause mortality. Short-term randomized controlled trials (RCT) have identified potentially beneficial effects of alcohol consumption on cardiovascular risk factors, but studies investigating genetic polymorphisms that influence alcohol consumption (i.e., Mendelian randomization) have yielded inconclusive results. To date, a long-term RCT providing causal evidence is lacking but urgently needed. Summary Triangulation of evidence from different study designs, including long-term RCTs, pragmatic trials and the evaluation of policy measures, combined will lead to the best available evidence.

Risk factors for ischemic events in residents of Kemerovo and Kemerovo region at 3-year follow-up (results of the urban rural epidemiology study)

“…Употребление алкоголя, ставшее предиктором развития ишемических событий в нашей работе, является хорошо известным фактором кардиоваскулярного риска, в особенности весомым при чрезмерном потреблении крепких алкогольных напитков (>60 г/день у мужчин и >40 г/день у женщин) [40]. Однако большое количество обсервационных исследований демонстрирует положительную прогностическую связь с низким и умеренным уровнем употреблением алкоголя [41].…”

“…Поскольку алкоголь потребляет более половины населения всего мира, в том числе и значительная часть людей нашего региона, следует изучать подходы для определения безопасного уровня его приема в зависимости от вида напитка и содержания в нем алкоголя в пересчете на этанол, размера порций и кратности употребления. Научный поиск в данном вопросе должен быть сосредоточен на проведении исследований, изучающих влияние профилактики потребления алкоголя в популяции на различные конечные точки и на оценку практического действия политических мер, регулирующих его массовое потребление [40][41][42].…”

Identifying Alcohol-Related Information From Unstructured Bilingual Clinical Notes With Multilingual Transformers

“…Among various information recorded in clinical notes, a patient's alcohol-related information has significant implications. Not only is alcohol consumption one of the most critical risk factors for various diseases [10,11], but its harmful use alone accounts for approximately 3.3 million deaths annually [12]. However, it is a modifiable risk factor, and appropriate lifestyle modification can significantly reduce the risk of its associated disease.…”

Limited alcohol consumption and lower risk of diabetes: can we believe our own eyes?

“…With the widespread availability of genome-wide association studies, investigators have taken to conducting genetic instrumental variable analyses for essentially every exposure, whether or not the necessary assumptions [reviewed elsewhere ( 7 )] are met. This is certainly true for alcohol, which has been the subject of dozens of these analyses, all of which have relied upon variants in the genes encoding alcohol-metabolizing enzymes (sometimes in conjunction with other, weaker variants) ( 3 ). Unfortunately, these studies have demonstrated variable degrees of rigor ( 8 ) and have relied upon variants that are proxies for alcohol use disorder, not for limited alcohol consumption ( 9 ).…”

“…Although excessive alcohol consumption can cause chronic pancreatitis ( 1 ) and eventually exocrine and endocrine pancreatic insufficiency ( 2 ), the effect of alcohol consumed within recommended limits (i.e., ≤2 drinks/d in men, ≤1 drink/d in nonpregnant women) on the risk of diabetes remains a long-standing and ongoing source of controversy ( 3 ). Although the elegant analyses conducted by Ma et al ( 4 ) in this issue of The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition will not bring this controversy to a conclusion, they illustrate, in part, why it has sometimes felt, to paraphrase Chico Marx in Duck Soup , so difficult to believe our own eyes.…”