Alcohol Use and Cardiovascular Disease

The Kaiser-Permanente Experience

KLATSKY, ARTHUR L. M.D.
FRIEDMAN, GARY D. M.D.
SIEGELAUB, ABRAHAM B. M.S.

Departments of Medicine and Medical Methods Research, Kaiser-Permanente Medical Center, Oakland, California.

Address for correspondence: Arthur L. Klatsky, M.D., Chief, Cardiovascular Division, Department of Medicine, Kaiser- Permanente Medical Center, 280 West MacArthur Boulevard, Oakland, Califomnia 94611.

Supported in part by the Community Service Program of Kaiser Foundation Hospitals, by a grant from the U.S. Brewers' Association, Inc., and by a grant from the NHLBI.

Circulation 64:p III-41, September 1981.

SUMMARY

Earlier studies of Kaiser-Permanente data have indicated that regular use of alcohol is associated with a reduced risk of major coronary events and that regular use of three or more drinks is associated with an increased prevalence of hypertension. A new study of hospitalizations in relation to alcohol use confirms this disparity in relations between alcohol use and cardiovascular disease and suggests that alcoholic cardiomyopathy has a relatively low incidence. An inverse relation between alcohol use and hospitalizations for cholelithiasis raises the possibility of a common pathogenic mechanism linking alcohol to coronary events and cholelithiasis. Overall risk of cardiovascular disease seems lower among users of two or fewer drinks daily than among either nondrinkers or heavier drinkers.