Moderate Alcohol Intake, Increased Levels of High-Density Lipoprotein and Its Subfractions, and Decreased Risk of Myocardial Infarction

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Abstract
Previous studies have suggested that moderate alcohol intake exerts a protective effect against coronary heart disease. Alterations in plasma lipoprotein levels represent one plausible mechanism of this apparent protective effect. We therefore examined the interrelation among alcohol consumption, plasma lipoprotein levels, and the risk of myocardial infarction in 340 patients who had had myocardial infarctions and an equal number of age- and sex-matched controls. The case patients were men or women less than 76 years of age with no history of coronary disease who were discharged from one of six hospitals in the Boston area with a diagnosis of a confirmed myocardial infarction. Alcohol consumption was estimated by means of a food-frequency questionnaire. We observed a significant inverse association between alcohol consumption and the risk of myocardial infarction (P for trend, 2 and HDL3 subfractions were strongly associated with alcohol consumption (P for trend, 2 and HDL3.