Alcohol consumption and blood pressure in a French epidemiological study

Abstract

We examined the relationship between alcohol consumption and blood pressure (BP) in a working population 723 men aged 20 to 59 years. In all 10-year age groups, means of both systolic and diastolic BP increased with level of alcohol intake, but this relationship was much less pronounced in subjects younger than 40 years. Similar findings were obtained for the prevalence of BP ≥ 160/94 mm Hg. There was no clear-cut evidence of a threshold level of alcohol intake in subjects aged less than 50 years. In the age group 50–59, a slightly higher mean BP non-drinkers than in moderate drinkers might be due to a higher prevalence of obesity among the former. Multivariate analysis showed that in subjects aged 40–59, the alcohol–BP association remained statistically significant when age and relative weight were controlled while it became non-significant in younger subjects. results were practically unchanged after adjustment for cigarette smoking, urinary sodium)potassium ratio, level of educational attainment. We conclude that the control of alcohol intake may be a means of preventing essential hypertension, along with the control of salt intake and adiposity.