WINE CONSUMPTION AND OTHER DIETARY VARIABLES IN MALES UNDER 60 BEFOREAND AFTER ACUTE MYOCARDIAL-INFARCTION

In France there are few cardiac deaths in spite of high animal fat int ake. France and Italy have the highest overall intake of alcohol in th e world. Obviously, there is an inverse association between coronary h eart disease (CHD) and alcohol intake in these countries. Although in the past decade several-large scale population studies have confirmed the beneficial effect of alcohol on CHD, these studies may not have be en sensitive to control all the confounding variables. No one so far h as explored the possibility that the French may be protected by their low level of life stress. In 1993 we conducted a case-control study (n = 118) to examine psychological variables in a group of Dutch males u nder sixty years of age, before and after acute myocardial infarction (MI). After adjustment for total. cholesterol, blood pressure, and smo king, a number of psychological factors appeared to be independently a ssociated with an increased risk of MI. For the present study the same group of patients was assessed for consumption of different types of alcoholic beverages, coffee, sugar, high-fat diet, and vegetables. In the univariate analysis patients appeared to have consumed more red wi ne (odds ratio [OR] 0.2, P = 0.03) and controls more spirits (OR 4.0, P = 0.005). After adjustment for total cholesterol, blood pressure, an d smoking as well as the independent psychological factors, red wine l ost its significance (OR 0.4, P = 0.17) whereas the OR for spirits eve n rose (OR 6.0, P = 0.01). The beneficial effect of wine may be an exp ression of a relatively low level of life stress. Alcohol itself is no t protective but rather a strong risk factor of MI.