Forum Summary: Using data from The 2001 National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions study (the NESARC study, n = 43,093), the authors of this paper conclude that alcohol may have cardioprotective effects not only in moderate drinkers, but also in individuals with patterns of use traditionally considered as “hazardous.” While such a finding has been shown in some population studies, there were questions by Forum reviewers as to the adequacy of the method for diagnosing coronary artery disease: self-report, with most subjects listing angina pectoris, a “soft” criterion for coronary disease.

In addition, the categories of drinking used in this study were very broad: rare or only occasional drinkers were combined with regular drinkers up to 7 or 14 drinks per week in the “moderate” category, and the “hazardous category” included a broad range of drinkers, from a minimal increase over the recommended limits to very heavy drinkers. The pattern of drinking (especially the number of days per week that alcohol was consumed) was not reported, making it difficult to separate regular from heavy week-end only drinkers. The effects of heavier drinking on other conditions (such as alcohol-related liver disease, mortality, etc.) were not included in this analysis.

It is physiologically possible that even hazardous use of alcohol, like moderate use, may well lead to cleaner arteries and therefore lower rates of coronary artery disease. If this is the case, an explanation for the increases in cardiovascular mortality reported for heavy drinkers in many studies may relate not directly to coronary artery disease, but to conditions such as cardiomyopathy or cardiac arrhythmias. However, the rates of accidents, suicide and other morbidity associated with hazardous alcohol use may well overcome any protective effects on coronary disease.

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Reference: Le Strat Y, Gorwood P. Hazardous drinking is associated with a lower risk of coronary heart disease: Results from a national representative sample. Am J Addict 2011;20:257.

Contributions to this critique by the International Scientific Forum on Alcohol Research were made by the following members:

R. Curtis Ellison, MD, Section of Preventive Medicine & Epidemiology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA.

Harvey Finkel, MD, Hematology/Oncology, Boston University Medical Center, Boston, MA, USA.

Ross McCormick PhD, MSC, MBChB, Associate Dean, Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, The University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand.

Francesco Orlandi, MD, Dept. of Gastroenterology, Università degli Studi di Ancona. Italy.

Erik Skovenborg, MD, Scandinavian Medical Alcohol Board, Practitioner, Aarhus, Denmark.

Arne Svilaas, MD, PhD, general practice and lipidology, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway.

Andrew L. Waterhouse, PhD, Marvin Sands Professor, University of California, Davis.

Yuqing Zhang, MD, DSc, Epidemiology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA.

The Medical specialists who are members of the Forum are happy to respond to questions from Health Editors regarding emerging research on alcohol and health and will offer an independent opinion in context with other research on the subject Please contact .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

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Contact: R. Curtis Ellison
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508-333-1256
Boston University Medical Center