LACK OF ASSOCIATION OF RECREATIONAL COCAINE AND ALCOHOL-USE WITH LEFT-VENTRICULAR MASS IN YOUNG-ADULTS - THE CORONARY-ARTERY RISK DEVELOPMENT IN YOUNG-ADULTS (CARDIA) STUDY

Objectives. This study examined the associations of left ventricular m ass,vith self-reported cocaine and alcohol use prevalent in the young adult population, Background. Increased left ventricular mass has been associated with long-term use of cocaine and alcohol; however, few of the published studies have been population based. Methods. Data from 3,446 black and white participants (mean age 29.9 years) in the Corona ry Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) study were used to examine the associations between echocardiographically measured left ventricular mass obtained from 1990 to 1991 and self-reported cocaine and alcohol use, Categories of cocaine use were those who denied ever using cocaine (n = 2,122), experimental users who admitted to cocaine use only 1 to 10 times in their lifetime (n = 755) and recurrent users who admitted to cocaine use > 10 times in their lifetime (n = 568). F or alcohol consumption, categories were abstainers who consistently de nied any alcohol consumption in the year before each of the three CARD IA examinations (n = 275), occasional users who admitted consuming alc ohol less than once a week or not at all during the year before the th ird examination (n = 1,322), moderate users who consumed 1 to 209 mi o f alcohol/week during the year before the third examination (n 1,524) and heavy users who consumed greater than or equal to 210 mi of alcoho l/week during the year before the third examination (n = 323). Estimat ed power to detect a 10% difference in left ventricular mass between g roups was > 80%. Results. For white women, left ventricular mass was s ignificantly higher among those who reported 1 to 10 lifetime uses of cocaine than in never-users (128.5 g [SE 2.0] vs. 122.7 g [SE 1.4], p = 0.002). There were no other significant differences in left ventricu lar mass among categories of cocaine or alcohol use in unadjusted anal yses or among analyses controlling for age, body mass index, alcohol o r cocaine use, physical activity, cigarette smoking status and systoli c blood pressure. Conclusions. At the levels of consumption reported, neither cocaine nor alcohol use was associated with left ventricular m ass in this cohort of healthy young adults.