Wine Information Council
april 2012
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Alcohol consumption and risk of stroke in women

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Light-to-moderate alcohol consumption has been consistently associated with lower risk of heart disease, but data for stroke are less certain. A lower risk of stroke with light-to-moderate alcohol intake has been suggested, but the dose response among women remains uncertain and the data in this subgroup have been sparse. METHODS: A total of 83 578 female participants of the Nurses' Health Study who were free of diagnosed cardiovascular disease and cancer at baseline were followed-up from 1980 to 2006. Data on self-reported alcohol consumption were assessed at baseline and updated approximately every 4 years, whereas stroke and potential confounder data were updated at baseline and biennially. Strokes were classified according to the National Survey of Stroke criteria. RESULTS: We observed 2171 incident strokes over 1 695 324 person-years. In multivariable adjusted analyses, compared to abstainers, the relative risks of stroke were 0.83 (95% CI, 0.75-0.92) for <5 g/d, 0.79 (95% CI, 0.70-0.90) for 5 to 14.9 g/d, 0.87 (0.72-1.05) for 15 to 29.9 g/d, and 1.06 (95% CI, 0.86-1.30) for 30 to 45 g/d. Results were similar for ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke. CONCLUSIONS: Light-to-moderate alcohol consumption was associated with a lower risk of total stroke. In this population of women with modest alcohol consumption, an elevated risk of total stroke related to alcohol was not observed

Additional Info

  • Authors

    Jimenez M.; Chiuve S.E.; Glynn R.J.; Stampfer M.J.; Camargo C.A. Jr.; Willett W.C.; Manson J.E.; Rexrode K.M.

  • Issue

    Stroke / pages 939-945 / volume 43

  • Published Date

    april 2012

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