The independent effect of habitual cigarette and coffee consumption on blood pressure

The authors investigated the possible relation between habitual cigarette and coffee consumption and blood pressure (BP) levels in 7506 men and 2095 women. The study population were managers and employees examined in northern Italy between 1986–1988. In particular, the hypothesis of a substantial independence between smoking-BP and coffee-BP was tested. BP levels were corrected for age, body mass index, physical activity, and alcohol consumption by analysis of covariance. Significantly, smoking was inversely related to BP, both in men (SBP, P < 0.001, DBP, P < 0.001) and women (SBP, P = 0.001, DBP, P = 0.012). In particular, the BP of non-smoking men, SBP/DBP, was 131.0/83.5, whereas in male smokers up to and over 20 cigarette/day, BP was 128.1/82.0 and 128.1/82.1 respectively. Coffee consumption was related to BP levels in men (SBP, P < 0.001; DBP, P = 0.009), but not in women (SBP, P = 0.320; DBP, P = 0.982). BP in male subjects was 131.3/83.5 in non-drinkers, 130.7/83.3 in those drinking 1–3 cups/day, 128.4/82.6 and 127.2/81.8 in drinkers of 4–5 and over 5 cups/day, respectively. No significant interactions were demonstrated, thus the relationship between habitual smoking and coffee consumption with BP appears to agree with an additive model.Corresponding author.     

The effect of interrupted alcohol supply on spontaneous alcohol consumption by rhesus monkeys

The alcohol supply (a 16% and a 32%, v/v, ethanol-in-water solution) for eight male rhesus monkeys, who already have had free access to water and ethanol solutions concurrently for about one year, was interrupted for 1, 2 or 7 days. The previously acquired ethanol consuming behaviour appeared very resistant to extinction, because ethanol consumption was immediately resumed after renewed access, even at a temporarily increased level. Since physical withdrawal distress was not observed and the increase was higher when interruption lasted longer, the observed behaviour could be attributed to the reinforcing effects of ethanol, leading to specific ethanol-directed behaviour.     

Alcohol consumption, %CDT, GGT and blood pressure change during alcohol treatment

AIMS: Blood pressure (BP) changes in alcohol-dependent individuals during a 12-week alcohol relapse prevention study were examined in light of drinking status and biomarkers of alcohol consumption [carbohydrate-deficient transferrin (%CDT) and gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT)]. METHODS: Of 160 randomized alcoholic individuals, 120 who had hypertension and in whom daily drinking data was available, at 6 and 12 weeks of treatment were included. The impact of alcohol consumption on change in systolic BP (SBP) and diastolic BP (DBP) was examined. Further analysis determined the relationship between BP and alcohol-use biomarkers. RESULTS: A significant effect of complete abstinence on both SBP (-10 mmHg; P = 0.003) and DBP (-7 mmHg; P = 0.001) when compared to any drinking (SBP and DBP = -1 mmHg) was observed. At week 12, participants with a positive %CDT (> or =2.6) had 7 mmHg greater SBP (P = 0.01) and DBP (P < 0.001) than those with negative %CDT. Participants with positive GGT (> or =50 IU) had 10 mmHg greater SBP (P = 0.12) and 9 mmHg greater DBP (P = 0.03) than those with negative GGT. The percent change in SBP was correlated with percent change in %CDT (P = 0.003) but not GGT (P = ns). The percent change in DBP was correlated with both percent change in %CDT (P < 0.0001) and GGT (P = 0.03). CONCLUSIONS: Abstinence from alcohol significantly decreased the BP and a positive relationship between BP and both alcohol-use biomarkers was illustrated. Since %CDT is more specific than GGT for heavy alcohol consumption, clinicians may monitor the role of alcohol in hypertension using %CDT as a supplemental aid, providing an objective assessment of drinking to influence BP treatment decisions.     

Ketoacidosis after cessation of chronic alcohol consumption

A 52-year-old man was admitted with diarrhea, near dehydration and dyspnoea. After many years of alcohol consumption, he had stopped drinking alcohol over a very short space of time and had eaten very little or nothing. He had tachypnoea, hypotension and an enlarged liver. Laboratory analysis revealed metabolic acidosis with an elevated anion gap, ketone bodies in the urine, increased free fatty acid levels and beta-hydroxybutyrate in the serum, fitting the picture of alcoholic ketoacidosis. The syndrome is explained by metabolic changes induced by chronic alcohol consumption and ketogenesis as the result of fasting and dehydration. Treatment consisted of correction of the fluid deficit and administration of glucose, after which the patient made a rapid recovery.     

The effect of alcohol consumption on nutritional status during murine AIDS

As alcohol (ETOH) abusers and AIDS patients have nutritional disorders, the influence of chronic ETOH consumption (5% v/v for 10 weeks) on levels of immunomodulatory nutrients (vitamins A and E, Zn, and Cu) in the serum, liver, small intestine, spleen, and thymus was determined during murine AIDS. The hepatic levels of vitamins A and E and Zn in both normal and LP-BM5 retrovirus-infected female C56BL/6 mice fed ETOH were significantly reduced compared to controls, whereas the level of Cu in the liver was not affected. Intestinal levels of vitamin A and Cu were not affected by ETOH, whereas vitamin E and Zn were significantly reduced in both normal mice and those with AIDS fed ETOH. The splenic levels of vitamin A and Zn in the normal mice were significantly reduced by ETOH compared to controls, but vitamin E and Cu were not. All splenic levels of nutrients measured were reduced in ETOH-fed mice with AIDS. The levels of vitamins A and E, Zn, and Cu in the thymus in murine AIDS were also significantly affected by ETOH consumption. The serum levels of vitamins A and E in both normal mice and murine AIDS were significantly decreased by dietary ETOH. These data produced evidence that chronic ETOH can directly aggravate undernutrition initiated by retrovirus infection. Such ETOH-induced malnutrition in AIDS may be a cofactor, accelerating development of AIDS via immunosuppression secondary to nutritional deficiencies.     

Alcohol consumption and blood pressure

The relationship between alcohol consumption and systolic and diastolic blood pressure was examined in a representative population sample of 1,429 men and women aged 35-64 years in Auckland, New Zealand during 1982. Univariate plots demonstrated a U-shaped relationship between alcohol consumption and systolic and diastolic blood pressures in men and in women aged 50 years and older, with light and moderate drinkers (less than 0-34 g alcohol/day) having lower blood pressure levels than either nondrinkers or heavy drinkers. No clear relationship was seen in younger women. The U-shaped relationship in men, particularly for systolic blood pressure, remained after controlling for potential confounders, whereas in women aged 50 years and older, there appeared to be a threshold level of approximately four drinks per day, below which drinkers had similar blood pressure levels to nondrinkers. In the multivariate analyses, it was calculated that among men, light and moderate drinkers had systolic levels 4.8 mmHg lower and diastolic levels 1.7 mmHg lower than nondrinkers and heavy drinkers, while among women aged 50-64 years, nondrinkers, light drinkers, or moderate drinkers had systolic levels 10.2 mmHg lower and diastolic levels 4.5 mmHg lower than heavy drinkers. These findings suggest that in men and in women aged 50 years and older, there is a nonlinear relationship between blood pressure and alcohol consumption, and that there is a level of alcohol consumption, of approximately four drinks per day, below which drinkers have either similar or lower blood pressure levels compared to nondrinkers.     

Social factors in the etiology of multiple outcomes: The case of blood pressure and alcohol consumption patterns

The literature addressing the relationships between biological and social factors in the etiology of multiple chronic diseases occuring simultaneously is presented. The rationale for studying such multiple outcomes is presented in terms of providing a realistic appraisal of the development of chronic diseases from a clinical perspective; i.e. persons with chronic illnesses often have more than one illness at the same time. Social processes related to the development of one joint disease outcome, namely clinically elevated blood pressure and heavy alcohol consumption patterns, are discussed, and emphasis is given to elaborating the role of stress and social support in the etiologic process. Several alternative models are presented to account for the etiology of the joint outcome, and a research agenda is suggested.     

Associations of alcohol consumption with blood pressure, lipoproteins, and subclinical inflammation among Turks

Gender-related impact of alcohol consumption on blood pressure (BP), serum lipoprotein profile, and C-reactive protein (CRP) concentrations was evaluated prospectively. Alcohol drinking status was assessed as abstainers and categories of light, moderate, and heavy (daily >40 ml ethanol) intake. Mean age of the 3,443 men and women who were followed up for a mean of 7.4 years was 47.6 ± 12 years. In each multivariable linear or logistic regression analysis, alcohol drinking status was adjusted for age, sex, smoking status, and physical activity. Among men, drinking was significantly associated positively with low-density lipo protein (LDL) cholesterol, apolipoprotein (apo) B, systolic and diastolic BP, and with CRP in a log-linear manner exhibiting features of a threshold at heavy drinking. With respect to response of serum triglycerides to light-to-moderate drinking, whereas men exhibited a significant increase, women exhibited a decline (P < .05). Lower BPs (P < .03) and CRP levels (P = .032) were observed in female drinkers than abstainers and, as distinct from men, no increases in LDL cholesterol and apoB were noted. Heavy drinking tended to protect the sexes against the risk of developing low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels in prospective multi adjusted analyses. Sex modulates response of cardiometabolic risk variables to moderate alcohol consumption among Turks. Only women respond with lower triglycerides and CRP, whereas men show a log-linear positive association of drinking categories with BP, LDL cholesterol, apoB, and CRP.     

The effect of the tobacco settlement and smoking bans on alcohol consumption

In the last few years, the price of cigarettes has increased considerably in the USA. In addition, a number of states have also imposed smoking bans. These increases in the cost and barriers to smoking have created a natural experiment to study relationships between smoking and drinking behaviors. In this study, we employ data from the first six waves of the Health and Retirement Survey (HRS) to analyze the effects of smoking bans and cigarette prices on alcohol consumption. We also test if past cigarette and alcohol consumption affect current alcohol consumption as predicted by co-addiction models. We estimate dynamic panel models using GMM estimators. Our approach allows us to obtain consistent estimates irrespective of the number of time periods. The three main findings of this study are: (1) there is positive reinforcement effect of past cigarette consumption on current alcohol consumption, (2) smoking bans reduce alcohol consumption and (3) there is a positive effect of cigarette prices on alcohol consumption.     

The effect of prior alcohol consumption on the ataxic response to alcohol in high-alcohol preferring mice

We have previously shown that ethanol-naïve high-alcohol preferring (HAP) mice, genetically predisposed to consume large quantities of alcohol, exhibited heightened sensitivity and more rapid acute functional tolerance (AFT) to alcohol-induced ataxia compared to low-alcohol preferring mice. The goal of the present study was to evaluate the effect of prior alcohol self-administration on these responses in HAP mice. Naïve male and female adult HAP mice from the second replicate of selection (HAP2) underwent 18 days of 24-h, 2-bottle choice drinking for 10% ethanol vs. water, or water only. After 18 days of fluid access, mice were tested for ataxic sensitivity and rapid AFT following a 1.75 g/kg injection of ethanol on a static dowel apparatus in Experiment 1. In Experiment 2, a separate group of mice was tested for more protracted AFT development using a dual-injection approach where a second, larger (2.0 g/kg) injection of ethanol was given following the initial recovery of performance on the task. HAP2 mice that had prior access to alcohol exhibited a blunted ataxic response to the acute alcohol challenge, but this pre-exposure did not alter rapid within-session AFT capacity in Experiment 1 or more protracted AFT capacity in Experiment 2. These findings suggest that the typically observed increase in alcohol consumption in these mice may be influenced by ataxic functional tolerance development, but is not mediated by a greater capacity for ethanol exposure to positively influence within-session ataxic tolerance.     

Influence of smoking and alcohol consumption on blood lead levels

Summary Blood lead levels were determined in 88% of all men and women born in 1936 and residing in four suburbs of Copenhagen, i.e., 504 men and 548 women. Smoking habits and alcohol consumption were assessed by interview and were found to be independent of other indicators of lead exposure. Increased blood lead levels of smokers could, for the most part, be explained by augmented alcohol intake as indicated by the partial correlation coefficient and by the relationship between alcohol consumption and lead levels in nonsmokers. Further, smoking contributed little to the blood lead levels of individuals who did not consume any alcohol. A multivariate analysis indicated that one unit of alcohol (1.35 cl pure ethanol) per day might contribute 0.5-1.0 g lead/100 ml blood. No significant difference was found between the influence of beer, wine, and hard liquor.This study was supported by the Danish Health Insurance Foundation (H6/85-75, H11/54-76, H11/60-77, H11/57-78). The Danish Heart Foundation and Danish Medical Research Council (5122-6646)     

Gamma-glutamyl transferase ectoactivity in the intact rat liver: effect of chronic alcohol consumption

The localization of gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT) in the intact rat liver was studied by a new approach in which the chromogenic gamma-glutamyl donor substrate of GGT gamma-glutamyl-p-nitroanilide is perfused through the portal vein to yield p-nitroaniline, which is monitored spectrophotometrically. GGT activity was markedly increased by the gamma-glutamyl acceptors glycyl-glycine, cystine and methionine, following Michaelis-Menten kinetics. Infusion of glutathione (GSH), the natural substrate of GGT, was shown to markedly reduce or to abolish the formation of p-nitroaniline without entering the liver cells, indicating the existence of a GGT ectoactivity accessible to the sinusoidal circulation. This ectoenzyme was shown to remove significant amounts of GSH from the circulation, amounting, in the naive rat, to 20-25% of the net rate at which GSH is contributed by the liver into the circulation. Chronic alcohol consumption is known to increase hepatic GGT activity, although the biological significance of such an effect remains unknown. Present studies show that chronic administration of alcohol to rats leads to a significant (40-75%) increase in hepatic GGT ectoactivity. GGT ectoactivity significantly correlates with total liver GGT, both in control and alcohol-treated animals (r = .76 and r = .90, respectively). Livers of alcohol-fed rats showed an increased (80-110%) capacity to remove circulating GSH which strongly correlated with total liver GGT (r = .96; p less than 0.0001).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

酒精对雄性大鼠生精功能和生殖激素的影响

目的　观察酒精对雄性大鼠睾丸生精功能及血清睾酮 (T)、黄体生成素 (LH )、卵泡刺激素 (FSH )的影响。方法　 40只健康雄性成年SD大鼠随机分为 4组 ,各组每日分别灌胃给予酒精 0 ,2 7,4 5,7 5g/kg ,连续 13周。测定各组大鼠精子计数、精子活动率、精子畸形率 ,血清T、LH、FSH含量 ,并在光镜下观察睾丸组织的病理变化。结果　与对照组相比 ,酒精组大鼠精子计数减少 ,精子活动率下降 ,精子畸形率升高 (P <0 0 5) ,光镜下酒精组动物睾丸生精细胞退化变性 ,且随剂量增大损伤加重。各酒精组动物血清T水平明显降低 (P <0 0 1) ,血清LH、FSH含量亦较对照组明显降低 (P <0 0 5)。结论　酒精是一种睾丸毒物 ,一方面直接作用于睾丸 ,抑制精子发生和睾酮合成 ,另一方面还使下丘脑 -垂体轴生殖内分泌功能受损     

Genetic modification of the effect of alcohol consumption on CHD

The deleterious health effects of high alcohol consumption are numerous and well recognized; however, the effect of moderate alcohol consumption on overall health continues to be a debated issue. Among the more prevalent diseases in Westernized countries, epidemiological research suggests that alcohol in moderation substantially reduces the risk of CHD, while it modestly increases the risk for certain cancers, such as breast and colon cancer. Despite the overwhelming data supporting the beneficial effect of moderate alcohol consumption on the cardiovascular system, some researchers are not convinced. Sceptics argue that the reduction in risk is attributed to a favourable lifestyle factor associated with moderate alcohol consumption, or that it may be attributed to constituents of alcoholic beverages other than ethanol, such as the antioxidants in the grapes. In order to promote overall health for the general public, it is necessary to elucidate these issues. One approach is to study population differences in alcohol metabolic efficiency, which is likely to contribute to an individual's susceptibility to alcohol-associated diseases. Among the population there is substantial variability in the efficiency to metabolize alcohol. Genetic variation among the alcohol-metabolizing genes is known to produce isoenzymes with distinct kinetic properties. Studying genetic differences that potentially influence disease susceptibility among populations may provide insight into the mechanism(s) for the relationship between risk factor and disease, such as alcohol and CHD.