Moderate alcohol intake and markers of inflammation and endothelial dysfunction among diabetic men

Abstract

Aims/hypothesis. Type 2 diabetes mellitus is characterised by heightened inflammation and endothelial dysfunction. Moderate alcohol intake has been associated with a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease in Type 2 diabetic patients. It remains to be determined whether there is an association between alcohol and inflammation in individuals with diabetes. Methods. We investigated the relationship between alcohol intake and inflammation in 726 of 18,159 men who returned blood samples in the Health Professionals Follow-up Study and had confirmed Type 2 diabetes at blood draw. Results. In age-adjusted analyses, alcohol intake was associated with lower levels of HbA 1 c, fibrinogen, soluble tumour necrosis factor receptor-2 (sTNF-R2) and soluble vascular adhesion molecule-1 (sVCAM-1), and with higher levels of HDL cholesterol and adiponectin (p value for trends <0.05). After adjustment for age, HbA 1 c, insulin use, fasting status, smoking, BMI, physical activity, aspirin use, prevalence of cardiovascular disease and dietary factors, each additional drink per day was related to increased HDL cholesterol (0.053 mmol/l, p<0.0001) and adiponectin (0.8 µg/ml, p=0.01), and decreased sTNFR-2 (73 pg/ml, p=0.03), fibrinogen (0.302 µmol/l, p=0.02) and sVCAM-1 (33 ng/ml, p=0.02). The relationship between alcohol and inflammatory biomarkers persisted when subjects were stratified according to HbA 1 c levels. Conclusions/interpretation. Moderate alcohol intake may have a beneficial effect on markers of inflammation and endothelial dysfunction in Type 2 diabetic patients.Keywords Alcohol · Cardiovascular disease · Diabetes mellitus · Inflammation

Alcohol consumption and heart failure: A systematic review

“…Earlier studies demonstrated that the beneficial effects of alcohol on cardiovascular disease may be mediated through raising high-density lipoprotein cholesterol [31], improving insulin sensitivity [32,33], raising plasma levels of adiponectin [34], inhibiting inflammation [35] and improving endothelial function [36], influencing platelet aggregation [37], other coagulation factors [38], fibrinolysis [3,39,40], and increasing plasma concentration of atrial natriuretic peptide (a cardiac hormone that plays a role in volume homeostasis) [14,41]. These multiple effects of alcohol could lower the risk of major risk factors for HF, including MI and type 2 diabetes mellitus.…”

Relationship between a wide range of alcohol consumptions, components of the insulin-like growth factor system and adiponectin

“…However, other findings on this topic have revealed inconsistent results (GoodmanGruen and Barrett-Connor, 1997;Röjdmark et al, 2000;Holmes et al, 2002;Lavigne et al, 2004). A few recent studies showed that a moderate alcohol consumption increased plasma adiponectin level (Shai et al, 2004;Sierksma et al, 2004;Thamer et al, 2004).…”

Role of adiponectin in the protective action of dietary saturated fat against alcoholic fatty liver in mice

“…23 Regulation of adiponectin by ethanol was further suggested by human studies demonstrating that moderate alcohol consumption significantly increased plasma adiponectin levels in both healthy and insulin-resistant middle-aged men. [24][25][26] Therefore, the effect of ethanol on adiponectin physiology appears to depend on the amount of alcohol consumed, the dietary context, and nutritional status. In the present study, we examined the role of adiponectin in the protective action of dietary saturated fat against alcoholic fatty liver in mice.…”