Alcohol Consumption and Carotid Atherosclerosis in Older Adults

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Objective— The association of alcohol use with atherosclerosis is inconsistent in previous studies. Methods and Results— For the Cardiovascular Health Study, 5888 adults aged 65 years and older underwent a standardized interview and examination. They reported beer, wine, and liquor use individually and underwent B-mode ultrasonography to determine internal and common carotid intima-media thickness (IMT). We compared composite carotid IMT values cross-sectionally using linear regression to adjust for demographic and clinical characteristics. Among 4247 participants free of cardiovascular disease, consumers of 1 to 6 drinks per week had 0.07±0.04-mm lower composite IMT and consumers of 14 or more drinks per week had 0.07±0.05-mm higher IMT than abstainers (P quadratic trend=0.02). We found similar relationships using internal and common carotid thickness measures and among men and women. The higher IMT associated with heavier alcohol use was particularly strong among 1592 participants with confirmed cardiov...