Relationship between drinking alcohol and atherosclerotic risk factors in female Japanese workers of different ages

AIM: To determine whether age influences the relationships of drinking alcohol with blood pressure and lipids in women. METHODS: The subjects were 53,911 female Japanese workers (20-69 years old) receiving annual health checkups at each workplace. The subjects were divided into three groups by daily average amount of ethanol consumed (non-drinkers; light drinkers, less than 30g ethanol/day; heavy drinkers, 30g ethanol/day or more). Blood pressure, body mass index (BMI) and total and HDL cholesterol were measured. RESULTS: In the age groups from twenties to fifties, BMI was significantly lower in light drinkers than in non-drinkers. In the forties and fifties age groups, systolic blood pressure in heavy drinkers was higher than that in non-drinkers, while no significant difference was found between non- and heavy drinkers in the twenties and thirties age groups. Diastolic blood pressure was higher in heavy drinkers than in non-drinkers in all age groups. Blood total cholesterol tended to be lower in drinkers than in non-drinkers at ages less than 60 years, while this relation was not observed in the sixties age group. Blood HDL cholesterol and atherogenic index tended to become higher and lower, respectively, with an increase in the amount of alcohol drinking in all age groups. CONCLUSION: In elderly women, the elevating effect of drinking on systolic blood pressure is increased and the lowering effects on BMI and blood total cholesterol are decreased. These results imply that drinking alcohol has less beneficial and more harmful effects on atherosclerotic risk in elderly women.