Table 3.
Association of alcohol consumption with selected variables in 210 222 men
| Current non-drinkers |
Current drinkers |
|||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amount drunk by weekly drinkers Category (g/week) (mean of each category) |
||||||||||||
| Abstainers | Ex-weekly | Reduced- intake | Occasional | Weekly | <140 (80) | 140-279 (223) | 280-419 (370) | 420+ (690) | P-trenda | Heavy episodic drinking | ||
| Number of men (N) | 42 764 | 7923 | 10 371 | 79 260 | 69 904 | 25 096 | 18 910 | 12 830 | 13 068 | 26 014 | ||
| Mean age (years) | 56.5 | 58.7 | 54.6 | 50.5 | 51.0 | 51.0 | 51.2 | 50.3 | 49.7 | 0.0001 | 49.3 | |
| Mean BMI (kg/m2) | 23.3 | 23.7 | 24.0 | 23.4 | 23.4 | 23.4 | 23.5 | 23.5 | 23.6 | 0.03 | 24.0 | |
| Mean waist:hip ratio | 0.90 | 0.91 | 0.91 | 0.90 | 0.91 | 0.90 | 0.91 | 0.91 | 0.92 | <0.0001 | 0.92 | |
| Mean SBP (mmHg) | 131.9 | 134.2 | 133.7 | 131.0 | 134.3 | 132.1 | 134.5 | 135.9 | 137.7 | <0.0001 | 136.7 | |
| Mean DBP (mmHg) | 78.3 | 79.7 | 79.6 | 78.2 | 80.4 | 79.1 | 80.4 | 81.4 | 82.3 | <0.0001 | 82.6 | |
| Mean heart rate (beats/minute) | 77.9 | 78.9 | 77.8 | 76.9 | 78.4 | 77.2 | 78.3 | 79.2 | 81.0 | <0.0001 | 79.9 | |
| Mean random blood glucose (mmol/L) | 6.0 | 6.2 | 6.1 | 5.9 | 5.9 | 5.9 | 5.9 | 5.9 | 6.0 | <0.0001 | 6.1 | |
| Mean MET hours/week | 9.1 | 8.8 | 9.3 | 9.5 | 9.5 | 9.5 | 9.5 | 9.5 | 9.4 | 0.32 | 9.8 | |
| Regular smoker (%) | 52.3 | 53.6 | 64.7 | 56.9 | 71.7 | 65.8 | 73.1 | 76.3 | 79.8 | <0.0001 | 77.4 | |
| Regular tea-drinker (%) | 43.1 | 46.7 | 52.8 | 46.7 | 60.0 | 58.9 | 59.1 | 59.6 | 62.1 | <0.0001 | 62.4 | |
| Self-reported poor health (%) | 12.8 | 23.5 | 14.0 | 7.7 | 5.9 | 6.1 | 6.0 | 5.5 | 6.7 | 0.95 | 6.8 | |
| History of chronic diseaseb (%) | 27.3 | 46.0 | 33.5 | 21.2 | 17.9 | 19.2 | 17.8 | 17.1 | 18.0 | <0.0001 | 18.1 | |
| Flushing response after drinking (%) | 18.0 | 24.1 | 16.2 | 13.3 | 8.4 | <0.0001 | 12.0 | |||||
| Problem drinking indicatorsc (%) | 23.9 | 10.7 | 23.1 | 31.6 | 41.5 | <0.0001 | 33.2 | |||||
Prevalences and means are adjusted for age and area. BMI, body mass index; S/DBP systolic/diastolic blood pressure; MET, metabolic equivalent task.
aP for trend by amount drunk category within weekly drinkers (P for heterogeneity across the five main drinking categories was <0.0001 for all variables).
bDiagnosed with one or more of: coronary heart disease, stroke, transient ischaemic attack, diabetes, cancer, tuberculosis, chronic hepatitis/cirrhosis, rheumatoid arthritis, peptic ulcer; chronic respiratory disease, gallstone/gallbladder disease, kidney disease.
cReporting one or more in the past month of: drinking in the morning, unable to work or do anything due to drinking; depressed irritated or lost control due to drinking; couldn't stop drinking; had shakes when stopped drinking.