Alcohol intake and risk of venous thromboembolism: A Danish follow-up study

Knowledge about the influence of alcohol intake on the risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE) is limited. We investigated the risk of VTE according to alcohol intake and drinking pattern among 27,178 men and 29,876 women participating in the Danish follow-up study Diet, Cancer and Health. Information on alcohol exposure and potential confounders were obtained from baseline questionnaires. We used Cox proportional hazard models to assess the association between VTE and alcohol intake. We performed separate analyses for the two sexes. During follow-up 619 incidents VTE events were verified. The lowest incidence rates of VTE were found for an average weekly intake of 3.9-13.9 standard drinks per weeks both for men and women. The adjusted hazard ratio (HR) was 0.91 [95%CI: 0.69-1.19] for women and 0.75 [95%CI: 0.56-1.02] for men according to an average alcohol intake of 3.9-13.9 standard drinks per week compared with low alcohol intake. In men, alcohol intake 2-6 times per week was associated with a lower risk of VTE compared to once per week (HR 0.77 [95%CI: 0.59-0.99]), but the difference disappeared after adjustment for total alcohol intake. We found no difference in the risk of VTE according to wine and beer intake. In conclusion, we found no consistent or statistically significant association between VTE and alcohol intake. Our data showed a u-formed association between alcohol intake and VTE, indicating that moderate alcohol intake may lower the risk of VTE with 10-30% in men.