Blood Pressure After Changes in Light-to-Moderate Alcohol Consumption in Women and Men: Longitudinal Japanese Annual Checkup Analysis
BACKGROUND: Alcohol consumption is a known contributor to elevated blood pressure (BP). However, the association between changes in light-to-moderate alcohol consumption (eg, </=1 drink for women and </=2 drinks for men daily), especially cessation, and BP remains unclear.
OBJECTIVE: In this study, the authors sought to evaluate the associations between alcohol cessation/initiation and subsequent BP changes, focusing on sex-specific estimates, light-to-moderate intake, and type of alcoholic beverage.
METHODS: We analyzed data from adults undergoing annual health checkups at a Japanese preventive medicine center from October 2012 to March 2024. Systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) changes between consecutive visits were evaluated. Alcohol intake was self-reported as standard drinks (1 drink = 10 g ethanol). Associations between alcohol cessation/initiation and BP changes were assessed with the use of generalized estimating equations, adjusted for demographics, clinical history, and lifestyle behaviors.
RESULTS: Among 359,717 visits from 58,943 participants, the cessation cohort (53,156 visits, 25,621 participants, median age 50.5 years, 52.1% women) revealed that cessation was associated with dose-dependent reductions in BP. Among women, cessation of 0.5 to 1.0 drinks per day did not correspond to a statistically significant change in SBP (-0.44 mm Hg; 95% CI: -0.93 to 0.06 mm Hg) and corresponded to a change of -0.41 mm Hg (95% CI: -0.77 to -0.05 mm Hg) in DBP, and cessation of 1.0 to 2.0 drinks per day corresponded to changes of -0.78 mm Hg (95% CI: -1.53 to -0.04 mm Hg) in SBP and -1.14 mm Hg (95% CI: -1.68 to -0.61 mm Hg) in DBP. Among men, cessation of 0.5 to 1.0 drinks per day did not correspond to a statistically significant change in SBP (-0.27 mm Hg; 95% CI: -0.81 to 0.27 mm Hg) or DBP (-0.39 mm Hg; 95% CI: -0.77 to 0.01 mm Hg), and cessation of 1.0 to 2.0 drinks per day corresponded to changes of -1.03 mm Hg (95% CI: -1.70 to -0.35 mm Hg) in SBP and -1.62 mm Hg (95% CI: -2.11 to -1.12 mm Hg) in DBP. The initiation cohort (128,552 visits, 31,532 participants, median age 50.0 years, 70.4% women) demonstrated dose-dependent increases in BP after alcohol initiation, and the overall direction of the effect was consistent across sexes. Beverage-specific analyses revealed similar BP effects regardless of alcohol type in both cohorts.
CONCLUSIONS: Even at low levels, drinking was associated with higher BP, and cessation was associated with lower BP in both sexes. These findings suggest that alcohol cessation is a broadly applicable strategy even among light-to-moderate drinkers for BP management. In this large dataset, BP changes in women associated with consumption at levels as low at 0.5 to 1 drinks per day are detectable.
Additional Info
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Authors
Suzuki T.; Fukui S.; Yoneoka D.; Aoki J.; Fujiwara T. -
Issue
Periodical: J Am Coll Cardiol - Edition: 20251015 -
Published Date
15 october 2025
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