Increased stroke risk is related to a binge-drinking habit
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Heavy alcohol consumption increases the risk for all strokes, whereas moderate regular alcohol consumption is associated with a lower risk for ischemic stroke. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of different drinking patterns on stroke risk, independent of average alcohol intake.
METHODS: A prospective cohort study of 15 965 Finnish men and women age 25 to 64 years who participated in a national risk factor survey and had no history of stroke at baseline were followed up for a 10-year period. The first stroke event during follow-up served as the outcome of interest (N=249 strokes). A binge drinking pattern was defined as consuming 6 or more drinks of the same alcoholic beverage in men or 4 or more drinks in women in 1 session. Cox proportional-hazards models were adjusted for average alcohol consumption, age, sex, hypertension, smoking, diabetes, body mass index, educational status, study area, study year, and history of myocardial infarction.
RESULTS: Binge drinkingBinge drinking (consuming rapidly four or more alcoholic drinks over a short period of time) has bee... was an independent risk factor for total and ischemic strokes. Compared with non-binge drinkers, the hazard ratio for total strokes among binge drinkers was 1.85 (95% CI, 1.35 to 2.54) after adjusting for average alcohol consumption, age, and sex; the association was diluted after adjustment for other risk factors. Compared with non-binge drinkers, the risk for ischemic stroke was 1.99 (95% CI, 1.39 to 2.87) among binge drinkers; the association remained statistically significant after adjustment for potential confounders.
CONCLUSIONS: This study found that a pattern of binge drinking is an independent risk factor for all strokes and ischemic stroke.
Additional Info
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Authors
Sundell L.; Salomaa V.; Vartiainen E.; Poikolainen K.; Laatikainen T. -
Issue
Stroke / pages 3179-3184 / volume 39 -
Published Date
december 2008
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