This Article Full Text Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Request Permissions Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by SoRelle, R. Search for Related Content PubMed Articles by SoRelle, R.

(Circulation. 2002;105:e9113.)
© 2002 American Heart Association, Inc.

Cardiovascular News

Ruth SoRelle, MPH

Circulation Newswriter

Choose Your Poison

Moderate consumption of wine, and to a lesser extent, perhaps beer, appears to be associated with reduced vascular risk, according to a meta-analysis of 26 studies on the relationship between wine or beer consumption and vascular risk conducted by researchers reporting in this week’s issue of Circulation (Circulation. 2002;105:2836–2844). The analysis was led by Augusto Di Castelnuovo, MS, and colleagues at the Department of Vascular Medicine and Pharmacology at the Istituto de recherché Framacologiche Mario Negri, Consorzio Mario Negri Sud, Santa Maria Imbaro, Italy, and at the Center for High Technology Research and Education in Biomedical Sciences at Catholic University in Campobasso, Italy.

In 13 studies involving 209 418 people, the relative risk of vascular disease associated with the intake of wine was 0.68, relative to nondrinkers. In 10 studies, the evidence of a J-shaped relationship was clear, indicating that the vascular risk varied with different amounts of wine intake. The researchers reported that the statistically significant inverse relationship between wine intake and vascular risk existed with a daily intake of 150 mL of wine. In 15 studies involving 208 036 people, the relative risk of vascular disease associated with moderate beer consumption was 0.78, relative to nondrinkers. However, it was not possible to determine a meaningful relationship between amounts of beer consumed and vascular risk, the researchers reported.

In an associated editorial (Circulation. 2002;105:2806–2807) by Eric B. Rimm, ScD, of the Departments of Epidemiology and Nutrition at Harvard School of Public Health, and Meir J. . . . [Full Text of this Article]