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Alcohol and Alcoholism Advance Access published online on November 22, 2006
Alcohol and Alcoholism, doi:10.1093/alcalc/agl093
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© The Author 2006. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Medical Council on Alcohol. All rights reserved
Received October 5, 2006
Revised October 25, 2006
Accepted October 28, 2006

Article

ALCOHOL INTAKE AND INCIDENCE OF CORONARY DISEASE IN AUSTRALIAN ABORIGINES

V. BURKE 1 *, A. H. LEE 2, E. HUNTER 3, R. SPARGO 4, R. SMITH 5, L. J. BEILIN 1, and I. B. PUDDEY 1

1 University of Western Australia, School of Medicine and Pharmacology, Royal Perth Hospital Unit, Western Australia
2 School of Public Health, Curtin University of Technology, Western Australia
3 School of Population Health, University of Queensland, Western Australia
4 Puntukurnu Aboriginal Medical Service, Pilbara Region, Western Australia
5 Miln Walker and Associates Pty Ltd, PO Box 167, Belair, South Australia

* To whom correspondence should be addressed.
V. BURKE, E-mail: vburke{at}cyllene.uwa.edu.au


  Abstract

Aims: To examine risk for coronary heart disease (CHD) and cardiovascular disease (CVD) in relation to alcohol in a cohort of Australian Aborigines. Methods: In 1988-1989, alcohol intake, drinking pattern, and beverage preference were elicited by interviewer-administered questionnaire in Western Australian Aborigines (258 men and 256 women) and cardiovascular outcomes ascertained through linkage to mortality and hospital admission records to 2002. Results: In proportional hazards models, risk for CHD, relative to lifetime abstainers, was significantly increased in ex-drinkers [Hazard ratio (HR), 2.29; 95% confidence intervals (CI), 1.23-4.27], those drinking 41-60 g/day in men or 21-40 g/day in women (HR 2.80; 95% CI, 1.04-7.53) and those drinking >150 g/day for men or >100 g/day for women (HR, 2.25; 95% CI, 1.03-4.90) with a J-shaped relationship. Low-to-moderate drinkers had lower waist girth, exercised more and had a lower prevalence of overweight and smoking than at-risk drinkers. A preference for wine was associated with lower HR (0.28; 95% CI, 0.10-0.95). With CVD, only ex-drinkers showed significantly increased risk (HR, 1.87; 95% CI, 1.20-2.91). Conclusions: More favourable health-related behaviours in low-to-moderate drinkers suggest that lower risk could be mediated by lifestyle, as proposed in other populations.


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