ALCOHOL-CONSUMPTION AND ULTRASONOGRAPHICALLY ASSESSED CAROTID-ARTERY WALL THICKNESS AND DISTENSIBILITY

Background. Although much has been written in recent years about the r elation between alcohol and atherosclerotic disease, controversy exist s as to whether and how alcohol exerts an effect on atherosclerosis in different sites. Methods and Results. We tested the hypothesis that a lcohol consumption is associated inversely with carotid atherosclerosi s in a population sample of 45- to 64-year-old men and women who parti cipated in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) Study and we re free of cardiovascular disease at a baseline examination in 1987 to 1989. B-mode ultrasonography was used to determine carotid artery int imal-medial wall thickness and distensibility as indices of the degree of atherosclerosis. The level of alcohol consumption in the ARIC samp le was generally low. Age-adjusted mean values of alcohol consumed (gr ams per week) were 72.0 for white and 74.3 for nonwhite men and 24.8 f or white and 11.2 for nonwhite women. After adjustments for age, arter y depth, education, body mass index, sport index, cigarette-years of s moking, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and diabetes mellitus, th ere was no significant cross-sectional association of reported current alcohol intake with either carotid artery wall thickness (among white and nonwhite men and nonwhite women) or distensibility (in any of the four sex-race groups). Among white women, the adjusted mean value of carotid artery wall thickness tended to be higher in light to moderate drinkers than in never or rare drinkers, but the difference across dr inking status categories was of borderline statistical significance (P =.04) and may be of little biological importance. Conclusions. The ARI C Study found no material cross-sectional association between current alcohol intake and carotid atherosclerosis but provides an opportunity in the future to study atherosclerosis progression and incident event s in relation to alcohol consumption in a large population sample of m en and women.