Alcohol consumption and blood pressure in Japanese men

In a study of Japanese men, a nonlinear association of alcohol consumption and blood pressure was not observed. This cross-sectional study was conduct ed to clarify the effect of infrequent or light alcohol consumption on bloo d pressure in normotensive Japanese men. The subjects were 2,179 male worke rs ranging in age from 40 to 54 years. Drinking habits were represented by three indices: episodic alcohol consumption, frequency of drinking, and mon thly alcohol consumption. Seven items were analyzed as covariates: age, bod y mass index, salt intake, physical activity, and levels of gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase, uric acid, and plasma glucose. The association between drin king habits and blood pressure was evaluated by using analysis of covarianc e. Both episodic alcohol consumption and frequency of drinking were signifi cantly associated with blood pressure in subjects aged 45 to 54 years. In t hose aged 40 to 44 years, there was a significant association between frequ ency of drinking and diastolic blood pressure. Significant associations of monthly alcohol consumption with blood pressure in every age group also wer e found. In subjects aged 45 to 54 years, linear associations between episo dic alcohol consumption, frequency of drinking, monthly alcohol consumption , and adjusted blood pressure were observed. In those aged 40 to 44 years, nonlinear associations of monthly alcohol consumption and frequency of drin king with adjusted blood pressure were observed, and threshold effects of 5 40 ml of alcohol per month and a frequency of 1 to 12 days per month were f ound. In conclusion, habitual alcohol consumption increases blood pressure linearly in normotensive workers aged 45 to 54 years, although light consum ption does not affect blood pressure in those aged 40 to 44 years. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.