From STATCAN
Subject: The Daily for: 2002-10-03
PDF downloadable file:
http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/021003/d021003.pdf
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http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/021003/td021003.htm
02 10 03 08 30
Thursday, October 3, 2002. Released at 8:30 am Eastern time
MAJOR RELEASES
Moderate alcohol consumption and heart disease
A new study has found that moderate consumption of alcoholic
beverages is associated with a reduced risk of subsequent
diagnosis of heart disease, or death attributed to it, among
women aged 40 or older, but not among men of the same age.
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Moderate alcohol consumption and heart disease
A new study has found that moderate consumption of alcoholic beverages
is associated with a reduced risk of subsequent diagnosis of heart disease
or death attributed to it among women aged 40 or older, but not among men
of the same age.
Women who reported consuming two to nine drinks in the week before they
were interviewed in 1994/95 had less than half the odds of being diagnosed
with heart disease or dying from it over the next four years than did
women who were lifetime abstainers.
These associations persisted when controlling for the impact of other
factors known to influence the risk of heart disease. Given the small size
of the survey sample relative to other studies, it is significant that
this association emerged in only four years.
Although previous studies have indicated a protective effect of
moderate drinking for both sexes, the National Population Health Survey
(NPHS) data showed no such association for men.
Male and female drinking patterns differ
Alcohol consumption reported to the NPHS differed substantially by sex.
In 1994/95, 13% of women were lifetime abstainers, compared with only 6%
of men. A higher proportion of women than men reported drinking
occasionally, but men were more likely than women to report moderate or
heavy consumption.
Among women aged 40 or older, 11% of lifetime abstainers and 14% of
former drinkers were newly diagnosed with heart disease or died from it
from 1994/95 to 1998/99. Over the same period, just 4% of light drinkers
and about 3% of moderate drinkers were diagnosed with heart disease or
died from it.
______________________________________________________________________
Note to readers
This release is based on an article entitled "Moderate alcohol
consumption and heart disease," published in Health reports, Vol. 14,
no. 1, which examines patterns of alcohol consumption in relation to a
subsequent new diagnosis of heart disease or death attributed to it.
The analysis is based on longitudinal data from the first three cycles
of the National Population Health Survey (NPHS), conducted
in 1994/95, 1996/97 and 1998/99. Cause of death was established with
information from the Canadian Mortality Database.
The study followed 3,379 women and 2,635 men who were 40 or older
in 1994/95, and who reported to the NPHS at that time that they had not
been diagnosed with heart disease.
Data on alcohol consumption in 1994/95 by these individuals were
studied in relation to a diagnosis of, or death due to, heart disease
during the next four years.
______________________________________________________________________
Other factors affect heart disease
The following factors were taken into account in this analysis: age,
household income, education, self-perceived health, diagnosis of diabetes
or high blood pressure, family history of heart disease, leisure-time
physical activity, body mass index, smoking and, for women, hormone
replacement therapy. Even when adjusting for these other risk factors, the
link between moderate alcohol consumption - that is, two to nine drinks
per week - and a diagnosis of heart disease, or death caused by it,
persisted for women. No relationship between drinking and heart disease
emerged for men.
A number of other factors were significantly associated with heart
disease. Men and women aged 55 to 69 or aged 70 or older had higher odds
of being diagnosed with heart disease or dying from it, than those
aged 40 to 54.
A family history of heart disease was strongly predictive of the
condition for both sexes. On the other hand, physical activity was
protective against it.
Men who reported having diabetes in 1994/95 had over twice the odds of
being diagnosed with heart disease or of dying from it, compared with men
who were not diabetic.
Men who were overweight or obese in 1994/95 had higher odds of a
subsequent diagnosis of, or death attributed to, heart disease than did
men whose weight was in the acceptable range. However, women classified as
overweight had lower odds of a new diagnosis of heart disease, compared
with women whose weight was classified as acceptable. There was no clear
link between obesity and heart disease for women.
Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) was not significantly associated with
heart disease. This may be because the analysis did not differentiate
between estrogen users and combined therapy users, or because of
insufficient statistical power (only 14% of women reported HRT use).
Information on methods and data quality available in the Integrated Meta
Data Base: survey number 3225.
The article "Moderate alcohol consumption and heart disease" is now
available in Health Reports, Vol. 14, no. 1 (82-003-XIE, $15/$44;
82-003-XPE, $20/$58). For more information, or to enquire about the
concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact Kathryn Wilkins
(613-951-1769; [log in to unmask]), Health Statistics Division.
This issue of Health Reports contains two other articles. The first,
"Ontario hospitals - mergers, shorter stays and readmissions," shows that
hospital characteristics that may indicate restructuring, such as a recent
administrative merger or a decrease in average length of stay, were not
associated with 30-day readmissions of pneumonia or acute myocardial
infarction patients. For more information on this article, contact Claudio
E. Pérez (613-951-1733), Health Statistics Division.
The second, "Hip and knee replacement," demonstrates that the numbers
and rates of hip and knee replacement among seniors increased
substantially from 1981/82 to 1998/99, but length of stay for both
procedures declined. For more information on this article, contact Wayne
J. Millar (613-951-1631), Health Statistics Division.
For more information about Health Reports, contact Marie P. Beaudet
(613-951-7025; [log in to unmask], Health Statistics Division.
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Health reports, Vol. 14, no. 1
Catalogue no 82-003-XIE ($15/$44).
Health reports, Vol. 14, no. 1
Catalogue no 82-003-XPE ($20/$58).
All prices are in Canadian dollars and exclude sales tax. Additional
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