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(Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology. 2004;24:342.)
© 2004 American Heart Association, Inc.

Atherosclerosis and Lipoproteins

Alcohol Consumption in Relation to Aortic Stiffness and Aortic Wave Reflections: A Cross-Sectional Study in Healthy Postmenopausal Women

Aafje Sierksma; Corinne E.I. Lebrun; Yvonne T. van der Schouw; Diederick E. Grobbee; Steven W.J. Lamberts; Henk F.J. Hendriks; Michiel L. Bots

From the Julius Center for Health Sciences and Primary Care (A.S., C.E.I.L., Y.T.v.d.S., D.E.G., M.L.B.), University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands; the Department of Nutritional Physiology (A.S., H.F.J.H.), TNO Nutrition and Food Research, Zeist, The Netherlands; and the Department of Internal Medicine (C.E.I.L., S.W.J.L.), Erasmus University Medical Center Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.

Correspondence to Michiel L. Bots, MD, PhD, Associate Professor of Epidemiology, Julius Center for Health Sciences and Primary Care, University Medical Center, Room D01.335, Heidelberglaan 100, 3584 CX Utrecht, PO Box 85500, 3508 GA Utrecht, The Netherlands. E-mail M.L.Bots{at}jc.azu.nl

Objective— Moderate alcohol consumption has been postulated to be cardioprotective. Such an effect might be reflected in large-artery properties, such as arterial stiffness and wave reflections.

Methods and Results— Three hundred seventy-one healthy postmenopausal women aged 50 to 74 years were sampled from a population-based study. Alcohol intake was calculated from a standardized questionnaire. Applanation tonometry was applied to assess the augmentation index and aortic pulse-wave velocity. Those drinking 1 to 3, 4 to 9, 10 to 14, and 15 to 35 glasses of alcoholic beverages per week had a 0.044 (95% CI -0.47 to 0.56), -0.085 (95% CI -0.59 to 0.43), -0.869 (95% CI -1.44 to -0.29), and -0.225 (95% CI -0.98 to 0.53) m/s difference in mean pulse-wave velocity compared with nondrinkers, respectively, which indicates a J-shaped relationship. Adjustment for potential confounders of pulse-wave velocity or alcohol intake did not materially change the strength of the association. Adjustment for HDL further attenuated the relationship. The augmentation index was not related to alcohol consumption when adjustments were made for physiological determinants such as age, height, and ejection duration.

Conclusions— Among postmenopausal women, alcohol consumption is inversely associated with pulse-wave velocity. This supports the presence of a decreased risk of cardiovascular disease with moderate alcohol consumption, which may be mediated in part by HDL cholesterol.

Key Words: alcohol • aortic stiffness • postmenopausal women • pulse-wave velocity

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