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The J-shape association of alcohol consumption on blood pressure levels, in elderly people from Mediterranean Islands (MEDIS epidemiological study)

Journal of Human Hypertension volume 21, pages 585–587 (2007)Cite this article

Studying data from 542 elderly men and women from Cyprus, Mitilini and Samothraki (all Mediterranean) islands, levels of systolic, diastolic, mean blood pressures, as well as pulse pressure levels were evaluated in relation to alcohol consumption. After adjusting for various confounders, alcohol intake showed a semiparabolic (J-shaped) association with systolic ( P =0.001), diastolic ( P =0.02), mean ( P =0.001) blood pressures and pulse pressure ( P =0.07). Moreover, compared to none, alcohol consumption of 1–2 wine glasses/day was associated with 13% (95% CI 2–25%) lower likelihood of having hypertension, irrespective of other characteristics of the participants, or the type of alcohol consumed.

The relationship between alcohol consumption and the development of cardiovascular disease (CVD) is complex and not fully understood.1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 Observational studies support that moderate alcohol consumption is associated with lower risk of CVD, whereas others reported that alcohol intake is not associated with an increase in coronary risk.2 As the long-term effect of alcohol consumption on blood pressure, especially in elderly populations, has rarely been studied, we evaluated whether alcohol intake is associated with blood pressure, in a sample of elderly men and women living in Mediterranean islands (MEDIS study).

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Acknowledgements

We are, particularly, grateful to the men and women from the islands of Cyprus, Mitilini, Samothraki who participated in and collaborated on this research. We also wish to express our gratitude to: Dr Michael Tornaritis, A Polystipioti, N Papairakleous, M Economou, S Papoutsou (Cyprus), V Boutziouka (Samothraki) and the staff in the health centre of Kalloni (Mitilini) for their substantial assistance in the field investigation. The Study is funded by Research grants from the Hellenic Heart Foundation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Nutrition – Dietetics, Harokopio University, Athens, Greece. E-mail: dbpanag@hua.gr,

    D B Panagiotakos, G Kourlaba, A Zeimbekis & E Polychronopoulos

  2. Hellenic Heart Foundation, Athens, Greece

    P Toutouzas

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  1. D B Panagiotakos
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  2. G Kourlaba
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  3. A Zeimbekis
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  4. P Toutouzas
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  5. E Polychronopoulos
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Supplementary Information accompanies the paper on the Journal of Human Hypertension website (http://www.nature.com/jhh)

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Panagiotakos, D., Kourlaba, G., Zeimbekis, A. et al. The J-shape association of alcohol consumption on blood pressure levels, in elderly people from Mediterranean Islands (MEDIS epidemiological study). J Hum Hypertens 21, 585–587 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.jhh.1002187

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