Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 1999 May;89(5):685-90.
doi: 10.2105/ajph.89.5.685.

Type of alcoholic drink and risk of major coronary heart disease events and all-cause mortality

S G Wannamethee  1 , A G Shaper
Affiliations

Type of alcoholic drink and risk of major coronary heart disease events and all-cause mortality

S G Wannamethee et al. Am J Public Health. 1999 May.

Abstract

Objectives: This study examined the effects of beer, spirits, and wine drinking on coronary heart disease (CHD) events (fatal and nonfatal) and all-cause mortality.

Methods: Men aged 40 to 59 years (n = 7735) were drawn at random from one general practice in each of 24 British towns and followed up for an average of 16.8 years.

Results: Regular drinkers showed a significantly lower relative risk of CHD, but no all-cause mortality, than occasional drinkers, even after adjustment for potential confounders. The benefit for CHD of regular drinking was seen within both beer drinkers and spirit drinkers but not among men who reported wine drinking. However, all men who reported wine drinking (both occasional and regular) showed significantly lower age-adjusted risks of CHD and all-cause mortality than men drinking beer or spirits; beer and spirit drinkers showed similar risks.

Conclusions: The findings suggest that regular intake of all alcoholic drinks is associated with a lower risk of CHD, but not all-cause mortality, than occasional drinking. A large part, but not all, of the greater benefit seen in wine drinkers relative to other drinkers can be attributed to advantageous lifestyle characteristics (e.g., low rates of smoking and obesity).

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Lancet. 1994 Jul 16;344(8916):193-4 - PubMed
    1. BMJ. 1991 Sep 7;303(6802):565-8 - PubMed
    1. Lancet. 1993 Feb 20;341(8843):454-7 - PubMed
    1. Am J Epidemiol. 1987 Oct;126(4):629-37 - PubMed
    1. Am J Cardiol. 1993 Feb 15;71(5):467-9 - PubMed

Publication types