The 2001-2002 National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions study (the NESARC, n = 43,093) identified 16,147 abstinent individuals, 15,884 moderate consumers, 9,578 hazardous drinkers-defined as exceeding sex-specific weekly limits established by the World Health Organization, and 1,484 alcohol-dependent subjects.
Diagnoses were generated using the Alcohol Use Disorder and Associated Disabilities Interview Schedule-DSM-IV version.
Both moderate and hazardous drinking were associated with decreased odds of CHD when compared with abstinence, whereas odds of CHD were not significantly different between alcohol-dependent and abstinent participants.
A moderate or even a hazardous consumption of alcohol is associated with a decreased likelihood of CHD after controlling for sociodemographic, psychiatric, and addictive risk factors.
Our study shows that alcohol may have cardioprotective effects not only in moderate drinkers, but also in individuals with patterns of use traditionally considered as hazardous.
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