Low prevalence of the metabolic syndrome in wine drinkers--is it the alcohol beverage or the lifestyle?

Abstract

Objective: To study how the intake of alcohol and the choice of wine, beer, and spirits is related to lifestyle factors and the metabolic syndrome in 60-y-old men and women.

Design: Cross-sectional population based study.

Setting: Stockholm County, Sweden.

Subjects: Sixty-year-old men and women (n=4232).

Results: Moderate intake of wine (10-30 g/day) was associated with a lifestyle characterized by being married, having a university education, being employed, being Swedish-born, having a good quality of life according to economy, leisure time and health, compared with a group with low alcohol intake. The opposite characteristics were seen among the non-drinkers. Drinkers of spirits were more often smokers and also reported higher intake of sausage and fried potatoes compared with a group with low alcohol intake. In women, the metabolic syndrome was significantly more common in non-drinkers (20%), P<0.05, and less common among wine drinkers (8%), P<0.01, compared with a group with low alcohol intake. After adjustments, a significant lower odds ratio for the metabolic syndrome were seen in wine drinkers in women (OR=0.60, P<0.05).

Conclusions: Compared with low alcohol drinkers, moderate wine drinkers exhibited a more favorable pattern according to both lifestyle factors and metabolic parameters. The close link between alcohol drinking behaviour and lifestyle habits illustrate the complex relationship between alcohol and health.