Alcohol consumption and risk of intermittent claudication in the Framingham Heart Study

Background-Intermittent claudication (IC) is associated with an increased r isk of cardiovascular disease morbidity and mortality. The relation of alco hol consumption to the risk of IC remains controversial. The purpose of thi s study was to assess the relation of alcohol consumption and type of bever age to the development of IC among participants in the Framingham Heart Stu dy. Methods and Results-Alcohol consumption was categorized as 0, 1 to 6, 7 to 12, 13 to 24, and greater than or equal to 25 g/d. During a mean follow-up of 6.8 years, 414 subjects developed IC. From the lowest to the highest cat egory of alcohol intake, the age-standardized incidence rates of IC were 5. 3, 4.1, 4.2, 3.2, and 4.6 cases/1000 person-years for men and 3.4, 2.5, 1.5 , 1.9, and 2.5, respectively, for women. A multivariate Cox regression mode l demonstrated an inverse relation, with the lowest IC risk at levels of 13 to 24 g/d for men and 7 to 12 g/d for women compared with nondrinkers;the hazard ratio (95% CI) was 0.67 (0.42 to 0.99) for men and 0.44 (0.23 to 0.8 0) for women. This protective effect was seen mostly with wine and beer con sumption. Conclusions-Our data are consistent with a protective effect of moderate al cohol consumption on IC risk, with lowest risk observed in men consuming 13 to 24 g/d (1 to 2 drinks/d) and in women consuming 7 to 12 g/d (0.5 to 1 d rink/d).