Search resultsRelationship of Alcohol Intake with Inflammatory Markers and Plasminogen Activator Inhibitior-1 in Well-Functioning Older Adults: The Health, Aging, and Body Composition Study
Title
Relationship of Alcohol Intake with Inflammatory Markers and Plasminogen Activator Inhibitior-1 in Well-Functioning Older Adults: The Health, Aging, and Body Composition Study
Publication type
Journal Article
Year of Publication
2004
Authors
Journal
Circulation
Volume
109
Issue
5
Pagination
607 - 612
Date published
2004
ISBN
00097322 (ISSN)
Keywords
African American, age, Aged, aging, alcohol, alcohol consumption, Alcohol Drinking, anamnesis, antiinflammatory agent, article, biological marker, Biological Markers, body fat, C reactive protein, C-Reactive Protein, cardiovascular disease, cardiovascular risk, cohort analysis, controlled study, diabetes mellitus, disease association, drinking behavior, epidemiological data, epidemiology, Female, functional assessment, high density lipoprotein cholesterol, human, Humans, inflammation, interleukin 6, Interleukin-6, Interleukins, major clinical study, male, physical activity, plasminogen activator inhibitor 1, priority journal, Prospective Studies, race, smoking habit, statine, tumor necrosis factor alpha, Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha, United States
Abstract
Background-Increased levels of acute-phase reactants predict the onset of poor health outcomes. A U-shaped association has been reported between alcohol intake and health outcomes, which suggests that alcohol intake may modify levels of acute-phase reactants. We investigated the relationship between weekly alcohol intake and interleukin-6 (IL-6), C-reactive protein (CRP), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), and plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1). Methods and Results-Data are from year 1 of the Health, Aging, and Body Composition study, a biracial cohort of 3075 well-functioning men and women aged 70 to 79 years, living in Memphis, Tenn, and Pittsburgh, Pa. The analysis included 2574 persons (51.2% women; 40.1% black) with complete data. After adjustment for age, race, smoking status, history of diabetes, history of cardiovascular disease, physical activity, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, antiinflammatory medications, statins, and total fat mass, alcohol intake showed a J-shaped relationship with mean IL-6 (P for quadratic term <0.001) and CRP (P=0.014) levels. The association was consistent in both men and women. Compared with subjects who consumed 1 to 7 drinks per week, those who never drank had an increased likelihood of having high levels of both IL-6 and CRP, as did those who drank 8 or more drinks per week. We found no relationship between alcohol intake and levels of TNF-α and PAI-1 (P=0.137 and 0.08, respectively). Conclusions-In well-functioning older persons, light alcohol consumption is associated with lower levels of IL-6 and CRP. These results might suggest an additional biological explanation to the epidemiological link between moderate alcohol consumption and cardiovascular events.