Is the apparent cardioprotective effect of recent alcohol consumption due to confounding by prodromal symptoms?

Citation
S. Wouters et al., Is the apparent cardioprotective effect of recent alcohol consumption due to confounding by prodromal symptoms?, AM J EPIDEM, 151(12), 2000, pp. 1189-1193
Citations number
15
Categorie Soggetti
Envirnomentale Medicine & Public Health","Medical Research General Topics
Journal title
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF EPIDEMIOLOGY
ISSN journal
00029262 → ACNP
Volume
151
Issue
12
Year of publication
2000
Pages
1189 - 1193
Database
ISI
SICI code
0002-9262(20000615)151:12<1189:ITACEO>2.0.ZU;2-E
Abstract
Previous research has reported a protective association between alcohol dri nking and acute coronary heart disease in the 24-hour period after drinking . This study investigated whether this apparent protective association resu lted from confounding due to the effect of prodromal symptoms on drinking b ehavior. In 1992, the authors conducted a case-control study that measured recent alcohol consumption and reasons for recent abstention from alcohol a mong patients with acute coronary heart disease identified from a community -based disease register and a representative control sample from the same c ommunity (Auckland, New Zealand). Cases were significantly more likely than controls to report recent abstention from drinking because they felt unwel l. In unadjusted analyses, a protective association was observed between re cent alcohol consumption and acute coronary heart disease; however, this as sociation was weakened considerably after adjustment for the effect of prod romal symptoms on drinking behavior. The previously reported protective ass ociation between recent alcohol consumption and acute coronary heart diseas e appears to be largely due to the confounding effect of prodromal symptoms on drinking.