Blood cholesterol levels of 32-year-old alcohol consumers are better than of nonconsumers

Predictors of tobacco and alcohol co-use from ages 15 to 32: The Amsterdam Growth and Health Longitudinal Study

Tobacco and alcohol are often used in tandem over time, but specific predictors of course and patterns of course over time need explication. We examined differences in alcohol and tobacco course among an adolescent population as they transitioned into young adulthood across a 17-year period. Data came from participants (n = 303 for ages 15-21, n = 196 for ages 21 to 32; 52% female and 54% female, respectively) enrolled in the Amsterdam Growth and Health Longitudinal Study, an epidemiologic investigation examining disease across the life span. We utilized parallel latent growth modeling to assess the impact of sex, personality traits, cholesterol, blood pressure, and body mass index (BMI), on initial status and linear change over time in course of tobacco and alcohol. Females reported less alcohol use at adolescent baseline (β = -21.79), less increase during adolescence (β = -7.92, p < .05), slower decrease during young adulthood (β = 4.67, p < .05), and more rapid decline in tobacco use during young adulthood (β = -70.85, p < .05), relative to males. Alcohol and tobacco use baseline status' and change over time were all significantly associated with one another during both adolescence and young adulthood (p < .05; aside from alcohol baseline and slope during young adulthood). Effects of BMI, cholesterol, blood pressure, and personality traits were also observed on tobacco and alcohol course. In light of the strong, but sex dependent relationship between alcohol and tobacco course, particularly from ages 15 to 21, prevention efforts to curb heavy alcohol and tobacco use should consider targeting course taking into account biological sex and other notable covariates. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

Alcohol consumption and the metabolic syndrome in Korean adults: the 1998 Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey

BACKGROUND

The metabolic syndrome is associated with a high risk of cardiovascular disease morbidity and mortality. Light and moderate alcohol consumption have been associated with reduced cardiovascular disease morbidity and mortality.

OBJECTIVE

This study was performed to examine the association between alcohol consumption and the metabolic syndrome.

DESIGN

The study sample comprised 7962 Korean adults (3597 men, 4365 women) who had participated in the 1998 Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.

RESULTS

The prevalence of the metabolic syndrome was 20.8% in men and 26.9% in women. The adjusted odds ratio for the metabolic syndrome in the group consuming 1-14.9 g alcohol/d was 0.71 (95% CI: 0.53, 0.95) in men and 0.80 (95% CI: 0.65, 0.98) in women. Alcohol consumption had a significant inverse relation with the odds ratio for low HDL cholesterol in all alcohol groups. Heavy alcohol consumption (> or =30 g/d) was associated with significantly higher odds ratios for high blood pressure and high triacylglycerol in men and high fasting blood glucose and high triacylglycerol in women. Odds ratios for the metabolic syndrome and its components tended to increase with increasing alcohol consumption. The dose-response relation of the odds ratio between alcohol consumption and the clustering of > or =3 risk factors was significant in both the high and low HDL-cholesterol groups.

CONCLUSIONS

Although alcohol consumption had a significant inverse relation with the odds ratio for low HDL cholesterol in all alcohol groups, an increasing dose-response relation was found between alcohol consumption and the odds ratio for the metabolic syndrome. This might be due to the opposite relation of alcohol consumption to other components of the metabolic syndrome.

Predictors of 14-year changes in the total cholesterol to high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio in men

BACKGROUND

Although the ratio of total to high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (TC/HDL) is a powerful predictor of cardiovascular disease (CVD), few studies have investigated which factors are associated with changes in this ratio over time. We examined predictors of a change in TC/HDL ratio over a period of 14 years among 4451 men free of CVD from the Physicians' Health Study.

METHODS

Baseline and updated physician characteristics and CVD risk factors were included in multivariate linear and logistic regression models to determine factors associated with a change in the TC/HDL ratio or of having a ratio of > or =5 on follow-up.

RESULTS

After a mean follow-up of 14 years, mean total cholesterol decreased by 7 mg/dL, HDL increased by 1 mg/dL, and the ratio decreased by 0.37. In multivariate logistic analyses, physicians were more likely to have a TC/HDL ratio of > or =5 at follow-up if they maintained a weight of > or =25 kg/m2 (OR, 1.69 [1.35-2.12]), gained weight (OR, 2.01 [1.55-2.62]), or became inactive (OR, 1.43 [1.11-1.83]). However, older physicians and those who consumed alcohol or received treatment for hyperlipidemia were more likely to have a ratio of <5.

CONCLUSIONS

Although pharmacologic treatment for hyperlipidemia had the greatest favorable impact on the ratio over time, our data also show that maintaining an ideal weight and exercise have beneficial effects. We therefore advocate a renewed fervor for raising public awareness of the benefits of healthy lifestyle behaviors and pharmacologic treatments that are associated with long-term maintenance of favorable cholesterol levels.