Alcohol Consumption and Cardiac Biomarkers: The Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) Study

Overview

Journal Clin Chem

Publisher Oxford University Press

Specialty Biochemistry

Date 2016 Jul 22

PMID 27440513

Citations 13

Authors

Mariana Lazo

Yuan Chen

John W McEvoy

Chiadi Ndumele

Suma Konety

Christie M Ballantyne

A Richey Sharrett

Elizabeth Selvin

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Background: The role of alcohol in the development of subclinical cardiovascular disease is unclear. We examined the association between alcohol consumption and markers of subclinical cardiac damage and wall stress.

Methods: We studied the cross-sectional and prospective associations of alcohol consumption with high-sensitivity cardiac troponin T (hs-cTnT) and N-terminal pro B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) measured at 2 time points, 6 years apart (baseline, 1990-1992; follow-up, 1996-1998), in over 11000 participants of the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) Study with no history of cardiovascular disease. Alcohol consumption was categorized as follows: never, former, current: ≤1, 2-7, 8-14, and ≥15 drinks/week.

Results: Compared to never drinkers, persons who consumed 2-7 drinks per week were less likely to have increased hs-cTnT (≥14 ng/L) at baseline (odds ratio = 0.67, 95% CI, 0.46-0.96), and had a lower risk of incident increases in hs-cTnT at follow-up (relative risk = 0.70, 95% CI, 0.49-1.00). Conversely, there was a positive association between alcohol intake and NT-proBNP concentrations at baseline. Consumption of ≥15 drinks/week was positively associated with incident increases in NT-proBNP (≥300 pg/mL) at the 6-year follow-up visit (relative risk = 2.38, 95% CI, 1.43-3.96).

Conclusions: In this community-based study of middle-aged adults without a history of cardiovascular disease, moderate drinking was associated with lower concentrations of hs-cTnT, a marker of chronic subclinical myocardial damage, and positively associated with NT-proBNP, a biomarker of cardiac wall stress. Our results suggest that the cardiac effects of alcohol are complex. Cardiac biomarkers may help improve our understanding of the full cardiovascular effects of alcohol consumption.

Citing Articles

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Association of alcohol consumption with circulating biomarkers of atrial fibrillation-related pathways in a population at high cardiometabolic risk.

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