The aim of this study was to determine the association of alcohol consumption and cardiovascular mortality in the U.S. population.
Alcohol consumption has been associated with a lower risk of cardiovascular disease in cohort studies, but this association has not been prospectively examined in large, detailed, representative samples of the U.S. population.
Light and moderate volumes of alcohol consumption were inversely associated with cardiovascular mortality. Compared with lifetime abstainers, summary relative risks were 0.95 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.88 to 1.02) among lifetime infrequent drinkers, 1.02 (95% CI: 0.94 to 1.11) among former drinkers, 0.69 (95% CI: 0.59 to 0.82) among light drinkers, 0.62 (95% CI: 0.50 to 0.77) among moderate drinkers, and 0.95 (95% CI: 0.82 to 1.10) among heavy drinkers. The magnitude of lower risk was similar in subgroups of sex, age, or baseline health status.
There was no simple relation of drinking pattern with risk, but risk was consistently higher among those who consumed 
3 compared with 2 drinks/drinking day.
In 9 nationally representative samples of U.S. adults, light and moderate alcohol consumption were inversely associated with CVD mortality, even when compared with lifetime abstainers, but consumption above recommended limits was not.
Request Reprint E-Mail: kmukamal@bidmc.harvard.edu
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