Table 1. Characteristics of study participants without clinical cardiovascular disease according to categories of alcohol consumption at baseline, the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study, 1990-1992.
| Former drinker | Never drinks | Current Drinkers (drinks/week) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
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| ≤1 | 2-7 | 8-14 | ≥15 | |||
| N (%) | 2,284 (19.7%) | 2633 (22.7%) | 3295 (28.4%) | 2013 (17.4%) | 812 (7.0%) | 560 (4.8%) |
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| Mean (SD) Age (years) | 57.0 (5.7) | 57.3 (5.7) | 56.2 (5.7) | 56.4 (5.7) | 56.2 (5.5) | 56.9 (5.7) |
| African-American, % | 36.6 | 37.3 | 13.5 | 15.0 | 14.3 | 17.0 |
| Female, % | 50.0 | 78.8 | 63.9 | 48.2 | 34.5 | 16.3 |
| Family income <$35000, % | 62.9 | 64.4 | 41.8 | 35.1 | 34.6 | 42.3 |
| Education less than high school, % | 13.7 | 10.6 | 3.5 | 4.0 | 4.7 | 8.2 |
| Obesity (BMI≥30), % | 33.9 | 35.3 | 26.5 | 19.4 | 20.2 | 17.1 |
| Hypertension, % | 37.6 | 38.0 | 26.3 | 29.0 | 32.4 | 37.3 |
| Mean (SD) HDL-cholesterol (mg/dL) | 46.8 (15.2) | 51.4 (15.9) | 50.1 (16.2) | 52.3 (17.6) | 54.1 (19.3) | 53.4 (19.9) |
| Mean (SD) LDL-cholesterol (mg/dL) | 136.0 (36.3) | 135.5 (37.7) | 132.1 (35.5) | 130.5 (35.4) | 130.7 (37.4) | 128.7 (39.5) |
| Median [P25-p75] Triglycerides (mg/dL) | 112.0 | 111.0 | 113.0 | 106.0 | 112.0 | 116.0 |
| Mean (SD) C-reactive protein (mg/L) | 4.9 (8.0) | 4.6 (6.6) | 3.9 (7.2) | 3.4 (5.2) | 3.5 (6.2) | 3.8 (6.6) |
| Diabetes, % | 21.1 | 19.0 | 11.4 | 9.9 | 10.1 | 16.3 |
| Median [P25-p75] GGT (U/L) | 22.0 [15.0-33.0] | 20.0 [14.0-30.0] | 18.0 [13.0-28.0] | 21.0 [14.0-31.0] | 27.0 [17.5-44.0] | 34.0 [21.0-55.0] |
| Current smoker, % | 24.0 | 10.6 | 21.0 | 25.2 | 33.1 | 39.3 |
| Left ventricular hypertrophy, % | 2.6 | 3.4 | 1.2 | 1.4 | 1.6 | 2.7 |
| Median [P25-p75] hs-cTnT (ng/L) | 3 [1.5-6] | 1.5 [1.5-6] | 1.5 [1.5-5] | 1.5 [1.5-5] | 1.5 [1.5-6] | 3.5 [1.5-6] |
| Increased hs-cTnT (≥ 14 ng/L), % | 7.1 | 3.8 | 2.6 | 2.8 | 3.6 | 3.8 |
| Median NT-proBNP (ng/L) [p25, p75] | 45.8 [14.5-87.0] | 54.1 [28.8-95.6] | 51.9 [28.6-89.2] | 49.2 [24.9-89.6] | 43.6 [24.0-84.5] | 44.9 [23.9-80.5] |
| NT-proBNP ≥300 ng/L, % | 3.1 | 2.7 | 2.2 | 2.8 | 2.2 | 3.5 |
| NT-proBNP ≥100 ng/L, % | 20.5 | 22.4 | 20.6 | 21.0 | 28.8 | 19.6 |
| History of excessive drinking §, % | 12.7 | 0.2 | 2.7 | 5.0 | 10.6 | 29.1 |
All variables significantly different across groups. §Self-reported at Visit 3. Was there ever a time in your life when you consumed 5 or more drinks of any kind of alcoholic beverage almost every day?
To convert cholesterol concentrations in mg/dL to mmol/L multiply by 0.2586.
To convert triglyceride concentrations in mg/dL to mmol/L multiply by 0.01129