Relation of Alcohol Consumption to Risk of Heart Failure in Patients Aged 65 to 84 Years With Hypertension
Section snippets
Methods
The present study analyzed data from the Second Australian National Blood Pressure study (ANBP2) and data from the ANBP2 post-trial follow-up. Details of the study design, and main findings from the ANBP2 were previously reported.23, 24 Briefly, the ANBP2 trial was a prospective, randomized, open label study with blinded assessment of end points conducted in 1594 Australian general practices from March 1995 to September 2001.23, 24 The study compared the difference in major adverse
Results
At baseline, data regarding alcohol consumption were available for 6,083 participants. Of these, 4,400 (72%) were current drinkers, 394 (7%) were former drinkers, and the remainder 1,289 (21%) were never-drinkers. At baseline, with respect to the current drinkers, 40%, 20%, and 13% of the study participants consumed 1 to 7, 8 to 14, and >14 drinks/week, respectively. For men, the level of alcohol consumption increased as mean age decreased, but alcohol consumption did not vary by age in women.
Discussion
In this long-term follow-up of older adults with hypertension, there was no evidence for benefit or risk of alcohol consumption, reported at baseline or at follow-up, in relation to HF, in either men or women. The findings of lack of an association between alcohol consumption and risk of HF persisted the analysis comparing the risk of HF across each level of current drinking at baseline or at follow-up with never-drinkers.
Alcohol consumption was common in the study population, but only 6% were
Acknowledgments
We are indebted to the participants, study staff, data management centers, and ANBP2 Management Committee. The Management Committee consists of the following members: L.M.H. Wing (Chair), C.M. Reid, L.J. Beilin, M.A. Brown, G.L.R. Jennings, C.I. Johnston, J.J. McNeil, J.E. Marley, T.O. Morgan, P. Ryan, J. Shaw (deceased), M.J. West, and G. MacDonald.
Disclosures
The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose.
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Funding: This work was supported by a National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia (NHMRC) Program Grant (1092642) awarded to CMR. CMR is supported by a Research Fellowship from the NHMRC. ANBP2 was supported by the Australian Commonwealth Department of Health and Aging and the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia (grant 546272); and Merck Sharp & Dohme (Australia) Pty. Ltd. The long-term ANBP2 cohort follow-up study was supported by an NHMRC program grant (546272). The funding bodies had no role in the design and conduct of the study, and interpretation of the data, or the preparation, review, or approval of the manuscript.