Moderate alcohol consumption and the risk of diabetes mellitus among Japanese men

A family history of diabetes and genetic predisposition are established as risk factors for diabetes mellitus, lifestyle factors also play an important role in the etiology of diabetes. Alcohol consumption may be related to risk for type 2 diabetes mellitus (type 2 DM) through effects on insulin secretion and sensitivity. Several large-scale epidemiological studies have suggested an inverse association between moderate alcohol consumption and reduced risk for type 2 DM. We assessed whether or not moderate alcohol consumption is associated with DM. Among 2,338 men, 150 cases of incident DM were newly identified by means of an oral 75 g glucose tolerance test. The newly diagnosed DM percentages of drinking 0 g/day, 1-9.9 g/day, 10-29.9 g/day, 30-49.9 g/day and ≥50g/day were 8.3, 6.3, 5.1, 5.2, 7.2, respectively. The newly diagnosed DM percentage of drinking 1-9.9 g/day had a significantly lower risk than 0 g/day. The frequency of alcohol consumption was significantly inversely associated with diabetes; a frequency of greater than 6 times per week showed a significantly lower risk than 0 times per week. HbA1c of drinking 10-29.9 g/day, 30-49.9 g/day, and ≥50 g/day were significantly lower than that of 0 g/day. These data suggest that light moderate and frequent alcohol consumption have a decreased subsequent risk of diabetes mellitus.