Moderate alcohol consumption and the risk of sudden cardiac death among USmale physicians

Background-Individuals who consume high amounts of alcohol (>5 drinks/d) ha ve increased risks of ventricular arrhythmia and sudden cardiac death (SCD) . However, the relationship is less clear for drinkers of light-to-moderate amounts. Methods and Results-We prospectively assessed whether light-to-moderate alc ohol drinkers have a decreased risk of SCD among 21 537 male participants i n the Physicians Health Study who were free of self-reported cardiovascular disease and provided complete information on alcohol intake at study entry . Over 12 years of follow-up, 141 SCDs were confirmed. After control for mu ltiple confounders, men who consumed 2 to 4 drinks/wk (RR=0.40; 95% CI, 0.2 2 to 0.75; P=0.004) or 5 to 6 drinks/wk (RR=0.21; 95% CI, 0.08 to 0.56; P=0 .002) at baseline had significantly reduced risks of SCD compared with thes e who rarely or never consumed alcohol. The relationship for SCD was U-shap ed (P=0.002), with the risk approaching unity at greater than or equal to 2 drinks/d, In contrast, the relationship of alcohol intake and nonsudden CH D death was L-shaped or linear (P for trend=0.02), Conclusions-In these prospective data, men who consumed light-to-moderate a mounts of alcohol (2 to 6 drinks/wk) had a significantly reduced risk of SC D compared with those who rarely or never consumed alcohol.