ALCOHOL-CONSUMPTION AND IDIOPATHIC DILATED CARDIOMYOPATHY - A CASE-CONTROL STUDY

Background Alcohol has been implicated as a risk factor for idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM), but a causal relation has not been esta blished. The objective of this study was to determine the association between alcohol consumption and DCM. Methods Questionnaires detailing average weekly intake of alcohol, total lifetime consumption, and alco hol abuse were administered in a cohort of well-defined patients with DCM and a randomly selected, population-based control group. Results s ignificantly more of the 100 patients with DCM than the 211 members of the control group drank greater than the recommended weekly intake of alcohol (40% vs 24%; p < 0.01) and were alcohol abusers according to the CAGE questionnaire (27% vs 16%, p < 0.05). The average total lifet ime consumption measured in units of alcohol was also significantly gr eater in cases than in the control group (31,200 vs 7,904; p < 0.01). Patients with familial DCM were not significantly more likely to consu me alcohol above recommended limits or to be alcohol abusers compared with nonfamilial cases. Conclusions This study confirms previous suspi cion of a causal association between alcohol and DCM, with significant ly more patients than members of the control group either abusing alco hol or drinking it in excess of recommended limits.