Regular alcohol intake decreased risk of coronary heart disease events but not total mortality in men
Questions Is alcohol intake associated with risk of major coronary heart disease (CHD) events or mortality in men? Does the type of alcohol (beer, spirits, or wine) influence these associations?
Design
Cohort study of men in the British Regional Heart Study with mean follow up of 16.8 years.
Setting
24 towns in England, Wales, and Scotland.
Participants
7272 men (mean age 50 y) were selected from registries of group general practices. Exclusion criteria were physical or psychological inability to participate, CHD, stroke, or incomplete questionnaire information on alcohol intake.
Assessment of risk factors
Men completed a questionnaire to assess their alcohol intake. For analysis, men were divided into the following quintiles based on their alcohol intake: non-drinkers, occasional (<1 unit/wk), light (1–15 units/wk), moderate (16–42 units/wk), and heavy (>6 units/d) (1 unit equals half a pint of beer, a single measure of spirits, or a glass of wine).
Main outcome measures
Data on major CHD events and mortality were obtained from medical reports, postal questionnaires, and national …
