Influence of gender on the association of alcohol drinking with blood pressure

Background: The purpose of this study was to determine whether gender influences the association of alcohol drinking with blood pressure. Methods: The subjects (43,810 healthy men and women at ages of 35-54 years) were divided into five groups by average daily ethanol intake (non-, very light (<10 g per day), light (≥10 g and <20 g per day), moderate (≥20 g and <30 g per day), and heavy (≥30 g per day) drinkers). The means of each variable after adjustment for age, body weight, and history of smoking were compared among the groups. Results: Systolic blood pressure of men was significantly higher in moderate and heavy drinkers than in nondrinkers, and systolic blood pressure of women was significantly higher in heavy drinkers but not in moderate drinkers than in nondrinkers. Diastolic blood pressure of men and women was significantly higher in light, moderate and heavy drinkers than in nondrinkers. The differences in systolic and diastolic blood pressure between drinkers and nondrinkers were greater in men than in women. Both in men and women, serum HDL cholesterol was significantly higher in all four drinker groups than in the nondrinker group, and the difference between drinkers and nondrinkers was greater in women than in men. The above findings were not altered when age- and alcohol intake-matched groups of subjects were used. Conclusions: The results suggest that blood pressure is more prone to be elevated by alcohol drinking in men than in women.