Excessive drinking predicts hypertension in nonobese men

Obesity appears to modify the relationship between high levels of alcohol consumption and hypertension in men but not in women, a recent study has shown.

“These results suggest that the reduction of alcohol consumption may be effective in nonobese men for the prevention of hypertension. Its efficacy should be evaluated in well-designed randomized controlled trials,” researchers said.

A total of 5,116 men and 6,007 women were retrospectively evaluated. In both sexes, those who drank more frequently tended to be older, had higher blood pressure and were more likely to be smokers.

Participants were followed for a median of 4.9 years, during which time 20.9 percent (n=1,067) and 6.3 percent (n=384) of men and women, respectively, had new-onset hypertension. Those who drank more often were significantly more likely to develop hypertension (p_trend<0.001 in both sexes).

Adjusted analysis further showed that men who drank 1–3 days (incidence rate ratio [IRR], 1.12, 95 percent confidence interval [CI], 0.97–1.30), 4–6 days (IRR, 1.42, 95 percent CI, 1.19–1.70) and 7 days (IRR, 1.35, 95 percent CI, 1.14–1.59; p_trend<0.001) a week were at greater risk of hypertension than comparators who drank rarely. No such linear association was reported for women.

Body mass index (BMI) exerted a modifying effect on the link between drinking frequency and hypertension risk in men (p=0.072) but not in women (p=0.910).

To further elucidate, men were categorized according to BMI. Researchers found that the dose-dependent interaction between alcohol consumption and hypertension risk was apparent only in nonobese men (BMI <22.0 kg/m²: p=0.012; BMI 22.0–24.9 kg/m²: p<0.001) but not in those with BMI ≥25 kg/m² (p=0.178).