Association of Lifetime Alcohol Drinking Trajectories with Cardiometabolic RiskJournal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism Published online 20 November 2007
Alcohol intakes may vary considerably over a drinker's lifetime. This study was designed to examine whether lifetime drinking trajectories are associated with cardiovascular risk factors which are used to define the metabolic syndrome.
Trajectory analyses were based on estimates of total kilograms of ethanol for each age decade between 10 to 59 years. Two groups of drinkers with distinct lifetime drinking trajectories were obtained, an early peak and a stable trajectory group. Compared to stable trajectory drinkers, early peak drinkers were 10 years younger on average, had earlier onset of regular drinking, drank heavily in late adolescence and early adulthood tapering off in middle age, averaged more drinks per drinking day in lifetime, and were more likely to abstain when interviewed.
After controlling for age, sex and other potential confounders, early peak trajectories were modestly associated with high odds of the metabolic syndrome overall, low HDL-C , abdominal obesity and overweight .
Early initiation of alcohol drinking and heavy drinking in adolescence and early adulthood may be associated with an adverse cardiometabolic profile.
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