Association of drinking pattern with risk of coronary heart disease incidence in the middle-aged and older Chinese men: Results from the Dongfeng-Tongji cohort

Background Epidemiologic studies have found that moderate alcohol consumption was associated with a decreased risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) incidence. Nevertheless, whether the drinking pattern is associated with CHD incidence still remains inconclusive. Methods We included 8,469 Chinese men aged 45-81 years, who were free of CHD, stroke, or cancer at baseline from Dongfeng-Tongji cohort. A semi-structured questionnaire was used to collect information on alcohol consumption and other covariates. Cox proportional hazard regression model was applied to estimate the multivariable-adjusted hazard rations (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs). Results During an average of 4.36 years of follow-up, we identified 959 incident CHD events. Compared with non-drinkers, the multivariable-adjusted HR (95% CI) of CHD incidence was 0.84 (0.71-0.98) in current drinkers. With respect to drinking pattern, men who consumed 20.01-40 grams ethanol once a time had a 24% lower risk of incident CHD (HR = 0.76, 95% CI = 0.62, 0.94) compared with non-drinkers. The adjusted HRs (95% CI) of CHD incidence were 0.80 (0.65, 0.99), 1.02 (0.84, 1.22), and 0.75 (0.59-0.96) in subjects who consumed 0.01-10, 10.01-30, and > 30 grams ethanol per day, respectively. Participants who consumed 20.01-40 grams ethanol per time with less than 5 times per week had the lowest risk of CHD incidence (HR = 0.73, 95% CI = 0.52, 0.96). No significant associations were observed between type or frequency of alcohol consumption and CHD incidence. Conclusions Drinking was associated with a lower risk of CHD incidence in middle-aged and older Chinese men and moderate quantity of ethanol amounts once a time with lower frequency could been considered as a healthy drinking pattern, which might modify the relationship between alcohol consumption and incident CHD.