Relationship Between Alcohol Intake and Lipid Accumulation Product in Middle-aged Men

AIMS: Lipid accumulation product (LAP), defined as a product of waist circumference and triglycerides, has recently been proposed as a predictor of cardiovascular disease and diabetes mellitus. The purpose of this study was to determine whether and how LAP is associated with alcohol drinking.

METHODS: Subjects were 21,378 men aged 35-60 years and they were divided by alcohol intake into non-, light (/=22 and /=44 g ethanol/day) drinkers. Relationships between alcohol intake and LAP were analyzed by using multivariate analyses with adjustment for age, smoking and habitual exercise.

RESULTS: Log-transformed LAP levels in light drinkers and very heavy drinkers were significantly (P< 0.01) lower and higher, respectively, than the level in non-drinkers, and the levels were comparable in non- and heavy drinkers (non-drinkers, 1.335 +/- 0.005; light drinkers, 1.290 +/- 0.009; heavy drinkers, 1.348 +/- 0.005 and very heavy drinkers, 1.414 +/- 0.006). The inverse association of alcohol intake with LAP was more prominent in smokers and subjects without regular exercise than in non-smokers and subjects with regular exercise, respectively, while the positive association of alcohol with LAP was more prominent in non-smokers than in smokers. Odds ratio for hyperglycemia of subjects with vs. subjects without high LAP was significantly higher than a reference level of 1.00, and this association was not different among the four alcohol groups.

CONCLUSION: There is a J-shaped relationship between alcohol intake and LAP, which is confounded by smoking and habitual exercise.