Table 2. Baseline characteristics of Korean adults according to alcohol consumption by sex.
| Alcohol consumption (g/day) | |||||
| Never | Light (0–15) |
Moderate (15<–40) |
Heavy (>40) |
P trend | |
| Men | |||||
| n (n of cases) | 508 (211) | 1,150 (369) | 783 (334) | 443 (208) | |
| Age, years | 53.1 (9.0)a | 51.1 (8.6)b | 50.4 (8.5)b | 50.1 (8.6)b | <0.0001 |
| Residential location, % | 0.006 | ||||
| Rural, Ansung | 49.4 | 41.6 | 41.9 | 47.4 | |
| Urban, Ansan | 50.6 | 58.4 | 58.1 | 52.6 | |
| Education level, % | <0.0001 | ||||
| ≤6 years | 23.4 | 15.7 | 20.1 | 22.4 | |
| 7 to ≤12 years | 55.5 | 59.5 | 56.6 | 61.2 | |
| >12 years | 21.1 | 24.8 | 23.3 | 16.4 | |
| Household income, % | <0.0001 | ||||
| <$890/month | 33.5 | 23.3 | 24.9 | 29.6 | |
| $890 to <$1,780 | 31.7 | 32.1 | 30.9 | 23.9 | |
| $1,780 to <$2,670 | 15.6 | 22.3 | 19.4 | 23.7 | |
| ≥$2,670 | 19.3 | 22.3 | 24.8 | 22.8 | |
| Smoking status, % | <0.0001 | ||||
| Never | 33.7 | 23.3 | 12.4 | 10.6 | |
| Former | 28.2 | 31.6 | 29.9 | 26.6 | |
| Current | 38.2 | 45.1 | 57.7 | 62.8 | |
| Physical activity | |||||
| MET, hours/day | 24.5 (16.2)a,b | 23.8 (15.2)a | 24.4 (15.1)a,b | 26.6 (16.5)b | 0.017 |
| BMI, kg/m2 | 23.5 (2.9) | 23.5 (2.6) | 23.7 (2.6) | 23.5 (2.8) | 0.224 |
| Alcohol intake, g/day | 0 | 5.1 (0.3–14.5) | 23.7 (15.6–39.4) | 50.9 (40.5–252.0) | |
| Nutrient intake | |||||
| Total energy, kcal/day | 2,029 (773)a,b | 1,996 (611)a | 2,020 (575)a,b | 2,107 (846)b | 0.032 |
| Carbohydrate, % | 71.9 (7.4)a | 70.9 (6.8)b | 69.7 (6.7)c | 69.3 (7.8)c | <0.0001 |
| Protein, % | 13.2 (2.4)a | 13.6 (2.2)a | 14.1 (2.1)b | 14.1 (2.6)b | <0.0001 |
| Fat, % | 14.9 (5.4)a | 15.5 (5.0)b | 16.2 (5.0)c | 16.4 (5.7)c | <0.0001 |
| Food intake, servings/day | |||||
| Fruits | 2.8 (3.0)a | 2.7 (2.2)a | 2.4 (1.7)b | 2.3 (1.9)b | <0.0001 |
| Meat | 0.5 (0.6)a | 0.6 (0.5)a | 0.7 (0.5)b | 0.8 (0.9)c | <0.0001 |
| Refined grains | 2.3 (1.6)a,b | 2.2 (1.5)a | 2.2 (1.6)a,b | 2.4 (1.7)b | 0.029 |
| Whole grains | 1.6 (1.5) | 1.7 (1.5) | 1.7 (1.4) | 1.6 (1.5) | 0.531 |
| Dairy | 0.5 (0.6) | 0.6 (0.6) | 0.5 (0.7) | 0.5 (0.6) | 0.063 |
| Waist circumference, cm | 81.3 (7.6)a,b | 81.2 (6.8)a | 82.1 (6.3)b | 81.9 (6.6)a,b | 0.029 |
| Fasting glucose, mg/dL | 90.7 (20.1)a | 89.6 (15.3)a | 91.6 (17.7)a | 94.7 (23.9)b | <0.0001 |
| Triglycerides, mg/dL | 129.3 (78.6)a | 136.7 (87.0)a | 149.7 (110.2)b | 169.2 (137.4)c | <0.0001 |
| HDL-C, mg/dL | 45.8 (9.5)a | 48.7 (10.7)b | 52.0 (11.7)c | 54.2 (13.1)d | <0.0001 |
| SBP, mm Hg | 118.0 (15.7)a,b | 117.6 (15.8)a | 119.6 (16.5)b,c | 121.7 (16.3)c | <0.0001 |
| DBP, mm Hg | 78.3 (10.4)a | 79.3 (10.2)a | 80.8 (10.5)b | 82.1 (10.6)b | <0.0001 |
| MetS status, % | 41.5 | 32.1 | 42.7 | 47.0 | <0.0001 |
| Never | Light (0–10) |
Moderate (10<–20) |
Heavy (>20) |
P trend | |
| Women | |||||
| n (n of cases) | 1,559 (753) | 1,076 (414) | 78 (36) | 32 (11) | |
| Age, years | 52.2 (8.9)a | 48.3 (7.7)b | 47.2 (7.5)b | 44.7 (4.8)b | <0.0001 |
| Residential location, % | <0.0001 | ||||
| Rural, Ansung | 48.6 | 39.8 | 33.3 | 25.0 | |
| Urban, Ansan | 51.4 | 60.2 | 66.7 | 75.0 | |
| Education level, % | <0.0001 | ||||
| ≤6 years | 40.9 | 28.5 | 20.5 | 21.9 | |
| 7 to ≤12 years | 51.1 | 63.8 | 73.1 | 68.8 | |
| >12 years | 8.0 | 7.7 | 6.4 | 9.3 | |
| Household income, % | <0.0001 | ||||
| <$890/month | 39.5 | 25.8 | 20.5 | 25.0 | |
| $890 to <$1,780 | 29.1 | 33.0 | 32.1 | 18.8 | |
| $1,780 to <$2,670 | 16.8 | 22.1 | 26.9 | 31.2 | |
| ≥$2,670 | 14.6 | 19.1 | 20.5 | 25.0 | |
| Smoking status, % | <0.0001 | ||||
| Never | 97.2 | 94.6 | 82.1 | 90.7 | |
| Former | 0.8 | 1.0 | 5.1 | 0 | |
| Current | 2.0 | 4.4 | 12.8 | 9.4 | |
| Physical activity | |||||
| MET, hours/day | 22.7 (14.5) | 21.3 (13.7) | 20.6 (10.1) | 20.0 (14.3) | 0.044 |
| BMI, kg/m2 | 24.0 (3.1) | 23.9 (2.9) | 24.7 (3.0) | 24.7 (2.9) | 0.080 |
| Alcohol intake, g/day | 0 | 1.7 (0.2–9.8) | 13.3 (10.4–19.4) | 33.4 (20.3–70.3) | |
| Nutrient intake | |||||
| Total energy, kcal/day | 1,887 (741) | 1,930 (728) | 1,904 (671) | 2,009 (915) | 0.422 |
| Carbohydrate, % | 73.1 (7.2)a | 71.2 (6.8)b | 68.2 (8.1)c | 67.1 (8.3)c | <0.0001 |
| Protein, % | 13.4 (2.3)a | 13.8 (2.2)b | 14.7 (2.7)c | 14.9 (3.2)c | <0.0001 |
| Fat, % | 13.5 (5.3)a | 15.1 (5.1)b | 17.2 (6.0)c | 17.9 (5.7)c | <0.0001 |
| Food intake, servings/day | |||||
| Fruits | 3.2 (2.7)a | 3.6 (2.7)b | 3.2 (3.2)a,b | 2.9 (2.6)a,b | 0.009 |
| Meat | 0.4 (0.5)a | 0.5 (0.6)b | 0.6 (0.5)b | 1.0 (1.2)c | <0.0001 |
| Refined grains | 1.6 (1.4)a | 1.4 (1.2)b | 1.4 (1.2)b | 2.0 (1.2)c | 0.035 |
| Whole grains | 1.9 (1.3)a | 1.9 (1.3)a | 1.8 (1.2)a,b | 1.1 (1.1)b | 0.004 |
| Dairy | 0.7 (0.7) | 0.7 (0.7) | 0.7 (0.7) | 0.7 (0.7) | 0.102 |
| Waist circumference, cm | 78.7 (8.9)a | 77.3 (8.4)b | 79.9 (9.0)a,b | 78.7 (8.6)a,b | 0.0003 |
| Fasting glucose, mg/dL | 86.3 (13.6) | 85.9 (11.2) | 87.5 (9.5) | 87.7 (6.5) | 0.589 |
| Triglycerides, mg/dL | 106.5 (54.9)a | 99.4 (47.7)b | 102.2 (44.8)a,b | 110.2 (40.7)a,b | 0.006 |
| HDL-C, mg/dL | 54.2 (11.4) | 55.2 (11.3) | 57.2 (12.0) | 57.9 (10.3) | 0.007 |
| SBP, mm Hg | 116.4 (17.9)a | 112.4 (15.9)b | 114.1 (15.1)a,b | 110.8 (15.2)a,b | <0.0001 |
| DBP, mm Hg | 76.1 (10.9)a | 74.4 (10.0)b | 76.4 (9.4)a,b | 75.4 (9.7)a,b | 0.001 |
| MetS status, % | 48.3 | 38.9 | 46.2 | 34.4 | <0.0001 |
BMI, body mass index; DBP, diastolic blood pressure; HDL-C, high density lipoprotein cholesterol; MET, metabolic equivalent of task; MetS, metabolic syndrome; SBP, systolic blood pressure.
Values are % or means (standard deviation) except for alcohol intake (median (ranges)).
P trend was assessed by generalized linear models or chi-square test.
a,b,c,dDifferences of variables across alcohol consumption were examined by post hoc test (Tukey’s test for multiple comparisons). Unlike superscripts mean significant differences across alcohol consumption.