Alcohol Intake and Blood Pressure Levels: A Dose-Response Meta-Analysis of Nonexperimental Cohort Studies

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Alcohol consumption may increase blood pressure but the details of the relationship are incomplete, particularly for the association at low levels of alcohol consumption, and no meta-analyses are available for nonexperimental cohort studies. METHODS: We performed a systematic search of longitudinal studies in healthy adults that reported on the association between alcohol intake and blood pressure. Our end points were the mean differences over time of systolic (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP), plotted according to baseline alcohol intake, by using a dose-response 1-stage meta-analytic methodology. RESULTS: Seven studies, with 19 548 participants and a median follow-up of 5.3 years (range, 4–12 years), were included in the analysis. We observed a substantially linear positive association between baseline alcohol intake and changes over time in SBP and DBP, with no suggestion of an exposure-effect threshold. Overall, average SBP was 1.25 and 4.90 mm Hg higher for 12 or 48 grams of daily alcohol consumption, compared with no consumption. The corresponding differences for DBP were 1.14 and 3.10 mm Hg. Subgroup analyses by sex showed an almost linear association between baseline alcohol intake and SBP changes in both men and women, and for DBP in men while in women we identified an inverted U -shaped association. Alcohol consumption was positively associated with blood pressure changes in both Asians and North Americans, apart from DBP in the latter group. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest the association between alcohol consumption and SBP is direct and linear with no evidence of a threshold for the association, while for DBP the association is modified by sex and geographic location.

Association between dietary flavonoid intake and hypertension among U.S. adults

“…A Mendelian study found genetic evidence of a causal relationship between alcohol consumption and cardiovascular diseases such as hypertension, coronary heart disease, and myocardial infarction, a relationship with a consistently increasing risk that rises exponentially with increasing intake (56). A Meta-analysis found a positive linear association between alcohol consumption and diastolic blood pressure (57). Our study found that moderate anthocyanin intake reduced the prevalence of hypertension in participants who were heavy and moderate drinkers.…”

Lower-Limb Perfusion and Cardiovascular Physiology Are Significantly Improved in Non-Healthy Aged Adults by Regular Home-Based Physical Activities—An Exploratory Study

“…Noteworthy is the significant reduction in blood pressure, specifically the registered decrease in SYS P in all patients. Systolic blood pressure is recognised as the most important preventable blood pressure-related risk indicator for cardiovascular disease [46][47][48][49], and MAP is recognised as an important marker directly related to the cardiovascular and cerebrovascular risk of stroke [43,44,48]. Finally, we perceived that pos-activity recovery was much faster on D30, as we could not find any significant differences in any variable except for LDF perfusion (Table 3 compares D0 and D30 in Phase 3).…”

Alcohol consumption may be a risk factor for cerebrovascular stenosis in acute ischemic stroke and transient ischemic attack

“…ROS resulting in lipid peroxidation, protein oxidation, production of proinflammatory cytokines, and activation of mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) and further leading to endothelial dysfunction [ 29 – 35 ]. Additionally, there is extensive evidence support that alcohol consumption is correlated with hypertension [ 4 , 36 – 38 ] which may accelerate the genesis of atherosclerosis. Numerous mechanisms, including increased sympathetic nervous system activity, increased intracellular Ca 2+ levels in vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs), increased renin-angiotensin system (RAS) activity, and endothelial dysfunction, had been implicated in the association between heavy alcohol consumption and hypertension [ 39 – 41 ].…”