Year: 1999
Type: editorial
Abstract: In 1970, the seven countries study1 showed there was a relatively lower rate of coronary heart disease in Mediterranean countries and that this difference was attributed to diet. In 1980–95 many studies demonstrated a favourable effect of moderate alcohol consumption on the incidence and secondary prevention of coronary heart disease. If one considers that wine consumption may have some protective effects against coronary heart disease, a number of questions arise:
To answer the first question, only transverse or retrospective studies are possible; a prospective study seems impractical—imagine a cohort of many thousands randomised for many years to water or to a daily amount of some alcoholic beverage without any flavour, or to the “wrong” wine associated with the same food in all groups! What about dropout, cost of drinking, addictions, overdose, cross over, and side effects? Furthermore, it would be difficult to select wine drinkers and abstainers on a random basis—for example, in the case of our hospital, volunteer wine drinkers might belong to the red wine group because the hospital is located along the vineyards of chateau Haut Brion and many of the (voluntary) abstainers might be slim vegetarians or addicted to rigorous physical training and by no means representative of a control group.
In the population of Boston the relative risk of myocardial infarction among moderate drinkers compared with abstainers was 0.45, and Gaziano et al concluded that “ . . .the strength and consistency of the observational and experimental evidence strongly suggests a causal link …
Source: Heart
DOI: 10.1136/hrt.81.5.459
Author: J-P BROUSTET
Institution: Hôpital Cardiologique du Haut-Lévêque
Language: English
Subfield: Pathology and Forensic Medicine
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W2106935756