Skip to main content
NCBI home page
Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health logoLink to Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health
. 1992 Jun;46(3):197–202. doi: 10.1136/jech.46.3.197

Blood lipids: the relationship with alcohol intake, smoking, and body weight.

G Wannamethee 1, A G Shaper 1
PMCID: PMC1059549  PMID: 1645070

Abstract

STUDY OBJECTIVE--The aim was to assess the interrelationship between alcohol intake, cigarette smoking, body weight, and blood lipid concentrations. DESIGN--This was the cross sectional (screening) phase of a prospective study. The main outcome measure was the blood lipids (serum total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, and triglycerides). SETTING--General practices in 24 towns (The British Regional Heart Study). SUBJECTS--Subjects were 7735 men aged 40-59 years, selected at random from the age-sex registers of one group practice in each of the 24 towns. RESULTS--Univariate analysis showed little association between alcohol intake and total cholesterol, a strong positive relation with HDL cholesterol, and a significant increase in triglycerides in heavy drinkers. A strong positive association between alcohol intake and body weight was present in non-smokers but not in moderate/heavy smokers. With the exception of HDL cholesterol, the relationships between alcohol intake and serum lipids were significantly different in smokers and non-smokers, apparently due to the opposing effect of smoking on blood lipids and body weight. Total cholesterol and triglycerides were significantly and positively associated with alcohol intake in non-smokers, the cholesterol association being largely mediated by the influence of alcohol on body weight. In smokers, no such association was seen: current smokers who were heavy drinkers or non-drinkers had the lowest mean cholesterol levels. CONCLUSIONS--The association between alcohol intake and body weight and alcohol intake and blood lipids are strongly conditioned by cigarette smoking. Simple standardisation for smoking in multivariate analyses may obscure the independent relationship with alcohol. These findings are of importance in studies seeking to relate alcohol intake, body weight, or cigarette smoking to blood lipid concentrations, or blood lipid concentration to morbidity or mortality.

Full text

PDF
197

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Allen J. K., Adena M. A. The association between plasma cholesterol, high-density-lipoprotein cholesterol, triglycerides and uric acid in ethanol consumers. Ann Clin Biochem. 1985 Jan;22(Pt 1):62–66. doi: 10.1177/000456328502200105. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Castelli W. P., Doyle J. T., Gordon T., Hames C. G., Hjortland M. C., Hulley S. B., Kagan A., Zukel W. J. Alcohol and blood lipids. The cooperative lipoprotein phenotyping study. Lancet. 1977 Jul 23;2(8030):153–155. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(77)90176-3. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Cummins R. O., Shaper A. G., Walker M., Wale C. J. Smoking and drinking by middle-aged British men: effects of social class and town of residence. Br Med J (Clin Res Ed) 1981 Dec 5;283(6305):1497–1502. doi: 10.1136/bmj.283.6305.1497. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Fisher M., Gordon T. The relation of drinking and smoking habits to diet: the Lipid Research Clinics Prevalence Study. Am J Clin Nutr. 1985 Mar;41(3):623–630. doi: 10.1093/ajcn/41.3.623. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Gordon T., Doyle J. T. Alcohol consumption and its relationship to smoking, weight, blood pressure, and blood lipids. The Albany Study. Arch Intern Med. 1986 Feb;146(2):262–265. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Gruchow H. W., Sobocinski K. A., Barboriak J. J., Scheller J. G. Alcohol consumption, nutrient intake and relative body weight among US adults. Am J Clin Nutr. 1985 Aug;42(2):289–295. doi: 10.1093/ajcn/42.2.289. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Hillers V. N., Massey L. K. Interrelationships of moderate and high alcohol consumption with diet and health status. Am J Clin Nutr. 1985 Feb;41(2):356–362. doi: 10.1093/ajcn/41.2.356. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Kozarevic D., Racic Z., Gordon T., Kaelber C. T., McGee D., Zukel W. J. Drinking habits and other characteristics: the Yugoslavia Cardiovascular Disease Study. Am J Epidemiol. 1982 Aug;116(2):287–301. doi: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.aje.a113413. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Muldoon M. F., Manuck S. B., Matthews K. A. Lowering cholesterol concentrations and mortality: a quantitative review of primary prevention trials. BMJ. 1990 Aug 11;301(6747):309–314. doi: 10.1136/bmj.301.6747.309. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Shaper A. G., Pocock S. J., Walker M., Cohen N. M., Wale C. J., Thomson A. G. British Regional Heart Study: cardiovascular risk factors in middle-aged men in 24 towns. Br Med J (Clin Res Ed) 1981 Jul 18;283(6285):179–186. doi: 10.1136/bmj.283.6285.179. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Sznajd J., Rywik S., Furberg B., Pajak A., Kurjata P., Williams O. D., Sznajderman-Ciswicka M., Misiowiec P., Irving S. H., Baczynska E. Poland and US collaborative study on cardiovascular epidemiology. II. Correlates of lipids and lipoproteins in men and women aged 35-64 years from selected Polish rural, Polish urban, and US samples. Am J Epidemiol. 1989 Sep;130(3):446–456. doi: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.aje.a115358. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Thelle D. S., Shaper A. G., Whitehead T. P., Bullock D. G., Ashby D., Patel I. Blood lipids in middle-aged British men. Br Heart J. 1983 Mar;49(3):205–213. doi: 10.1136/hrt.49.3.205. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Wannamethee G., Shaper A. G. Men who do not drink: a report from the British Regional Heart Study. Int J Epidemiol. 1988 Jun;17(2):307–316. doi: 10.1093/ije/17.2.307. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Yano K., Rhoads G. G., Kagan A. Coffee, alcohol and risk of coronary heart disease among Japanese men living in Hawaii. N Engl J Med. 1977 Aug 25;297(8):405–409. doi: 10.1056/NEJM197708252970801. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health are provided here courtesy of BMJ Publishing Group

RESOURCES