Type of Alcohol and Blood Pressure: the Copenhagen General Population Study

BACKGROUND Most adults ingest alcoholic beverages. Alcohol shows strong and positive associations with blood pressure (BP). We hypothesized that intake of red wine, white wine, beer, and spirits/dessert wine show similar associations with BP in the general population. METHODS We included 104,467 males and females aged 20-100 years in the analysis of Danish general population. Alcohol use and type of alcohol were assessed by questionnaire. BP was measured by automated digital BP manometer. Multivariable linear regression models were used when analyzing association between number of drinks/week and BP, stratified by sex and adjusted for relevant confounders. Each alcohol type (red wine, white wine, beer, and spirits/dessert wine) were analyzed in similar models including adjustment for other alcohol types. RESULTS Most people, 76,943 (73.7%) drank more than one type of alcohol. However, 12,093 (12.6%) consumed red wine only, 4,288 (4.5%) beer only, 1,815 (1.9%) white wine only, and 926 (1.0%) spirits/dessert wine only. There was a dose-response association between total drinks/week and systolic and diastolic BP (SBP, DBP) (p<0.001). The crude difference was 11 mmHg SBP and 7 mmHg DBP between high (>35 drinks/week) and low (1-2 drinks/week) alcohol intake. Overall, SBP was increased by 0.15-0.17 mmHG and DBP was increased by 0.08-0.15 mmHg per weekly drink. After stratification for age and sex, effects were slightly higher among women and among individuals were under age 60 years. CONCLUSION Alcohol intake is associated with highly significant increased SPB and DBP. The effect is similar for red wine, white wine, beer and spirits.