Alcohol consumption and the risk of hypertension: a systematic review and meta-analysis" American Society of Hypertension

Annual Meeting 2011; Abstract PO-51. Briasoulis A, et al

Preliminary data from a meta-analysis suggests that the risk of developing hypertension in
influeneced by alcohol consumption that appears to affect men and women differently, presented
at the American Society of Hypertention 2011 Annual Meeting.

Compared with women who don't drink alcohol, those who averaged less than one drink a day
were significantly less likely to develop hypertension (RR 0.87, 95% CI 0.82 to 0.92), according
to Franz Messerli, MD, of St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital Center in New York City. In contrast,
no amount of alcohol consumption was associated with a lower risk of hypertension in men,
Messerli reported at the American Society of Hypertension meeting here.

For both men and women, imbibing more than three drinks a day was associated with
significantly increased risks of developing hypertension (RR 1.42 for men and 1.19 for women).
Consuming more than 3 alcoholic drinks per day (the equivalent of 30 grams or about 1 ounce of
86 proof liquor) was associated with an increased risk. The findings are similar to results of
previously published studies.

In this meta analysis, 16 studies were identified in the literature from 1966 to 2010, including
The studies included 158,142 men and 314,258 women ranging in age from 18 to 80. Follow-up
ranged from four years to 20. Most of the studies were randomized controlled trials, although
two were retrospective reports.

To standardize the measurement of alcohol intake, one drink was considered 10 grams of alcohol
-- about 1 ounce of 86 proof liquor.

In the pooled analysis, the relationship between alcohol intake and the risk of developing
hypertension in women was J-shaped. Compared with no alcohol intake, the relative risk of
developing hypertension were as follows:

 Consuming less than 10 grams a day, 0.87 (95% CI 0.82 to 0.92)

 10 to 20 grams, 0.90 (95% CI 0.78 to 1.04)
 21 to 30 grams, 1.16 (95% CI 0.91 to 1.46)
 More than 30 grams, 1.19 (95% CI 1.07 to 1.32)

For men, there was no reduction in the risk of developing hypertension at low levels of alcohol
intake. For increasing levels of intake, the relative risks of developing hypertension were as
follows:

 Consuming less than 10 grams a day, 1.01 (95% CI 0.88 to 1.15)

 10 to 20 grams, 1.09 (95% CI 0.93 to 1.28)
 21 to 30 grams, 1.07 (95% CI 0.86 to 1.34)
 More than 30 grams, 1.42 (95% CI 1.01 to 1.98)

Messerli noted some limitations of the meta-analysis, including the heterogeneity of the patient
population, the use of various definitions of hypertension, the lack of a validated measure to
assess alcohol intake, possible misclassification of alcohol intake resulting from the use of self-
reported data, and the lack of information about how different types of alcoholic beverages might
affect the development of hypertension.
Messerli reported receiving speaker's fees from Abbott, GlaxoSmithKline, Novartis, Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Bayer,
Boehringer Ingelheim, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Forest, Sankyo, and Sanofi, and research grants from GlaxoSmithKline,
Pfizer, Novartis, and CardioVascular Therapeutics.