Dupuytren's disease, alcohol consumption and alcoholism

Objective-To assess the relation between alcohol consumption and Dupuytren's disease. Design-The participants were recruited from a previous study on Dupuytren's disease carried out in 1981-82 as part of a cohort study. Men with Dupuytren's disease in the former study and a control group were invited. The groups were matched for age and smoking habits. Settings-The study took place at the Heart Preventive Clinic in Reykjavik. Patients-Of 244 invited participants, 193 (79.1%) responded to the invitation; 137 had Dupuytren's disease and 56 were disease-free. Participants were examined for the presence of Dupuytren's disease and answered a questionnaire about alcohol habits. Main outcome measures-Alcoholism, alcohol consumption and signs of Dupuytren's disease. Results-Of the Dupuytren's group, 19 (13.9%) had been treated for alcoholism or were heavy drinkers compared to 8 (14.3%) of those without Dupuytren's disease (NS). Little or moderate alcohol consumption was reported in 78.1% of the Dupuytren's patients compared to 73.2% of the controls (NS). Total abstainers from alcohol were 11 (8.0%) in the Dupuytren's group compared to 7 (12.5%) in the control group (NS). Conclusion-Our findings do not support a positive association between the use of alcohol and Dupuytren's disease.