Moderate alcohol consumption and heart disease

Abstract

Objectives: This article examines patterns of alcohol consumption in relation to a subsequent new diagnosis of or death from heart disease.

Data sources: The analysis is based on longitudinal data from the first three cycles of the National Population Health Survey (NPHS), conducted by Statistics Canada in 1994/95, 1996/97 and 1998/99. The data are from a sample of 3,379 women and 2,635 men from the household population, who, in 1994/95, were aged 40 or older and reported that they had not been diagnosed with heart disease. Cause of death was established with information from the Canadian Mortality Database.

Analytical techniques: Descriptive data were produced using bivariate frequencies. Multiple logistic regression was used to examine associations between level of alcohol consumption reported in 1994/95 and a subsequent diagnosis of or death from heart disease.

Main results: Women reporting moderate alcohol consumption--two to nine drinks in the past week--had significantly lower odds of receiving a new diagnosis of or dying from heart disease between 1994/95 and 1998/99, compared with women who reported lifetime abstinence. No association between alcohol consumption and subsequent heart disease emerged for men.