Associations between alcohol consumption and selected cytokines in a Swiss population-based sample (CoLaus study)

Objective: To assess the associations between alcohol consumption and cytokine levels (interleukin-1beta -IL-1 beta; interleukin-6 -IL-6 and tumor necrosis factor-alpha - TNF-alpha) in a Caucasian population. Methods: Population sample of 2884 men and 3201 women aged 35-75. Alcohol consumption was categorized as nondrinkers, low (1-6 drinks/week), moderate (7-13/week) and high (14+/week). Results: No difference in IL-1 beta levels was found between alcohol consumption categories. Low and moderate alcohol consumption led to lower IL-6 levels: median (interquartile range) 1.47 (0.70-3.51), 1.41 (0.70-3.32), 1.42 (0.66-3.19) and 1.70 (0.83-4.39) pg/ml for nondrinkers, low, moderate and high drinkers, respectively, p < 0.01, but this association was no longer significant after multivariate adjustment. Compared to nondrinkers, moderate drinkers had the lowest odds (Odds ratio = 0.86 (0.71-1.03)) of being in the highest quartile of IL-6, with a significant (p < 0.05) quadratic trend. Low and moderate alcohol consumption led to lower TNF-alpha levels: 2.92 (1.79-4.63), 2.83 (1.84-4.48), 2.82 (1.76-4.34) and 3.15 (1.91-4.73) pg/ml for nondrinkers, low, moderate and high drinkers, respectively, p < 0.02, and this difference remained borderline significant (p = 0.06) after multivariate adjustment. Moderate drinkers had a lower odds (0.81 [0.68-0.98]) of being in the highest quartile of TNF-alpha. No specific alcoholic beverage (wine, beer or spirits) effect was found. Conclusions: Moderate alcohol consumption is associated with lower levels of IL-6 and (to a lesser degree) of TNF-alpha, irrespective of the type of alcohol consumed. No association was found between IL-1 beta levels and alcohol consumption. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.