The frequency of alcohol consumption is associated with the stroke mortality

Objectives - The purpose of this study was to examine the association between the frequency of alcohol consumption and stroke mortality among eastern Finnish men. Material and methods - This study is a population-based sample of men with an average follow-up of 20.2 years. A total of 2609 men with no history of stroke at baseline participated in the study. During the follow-up, 66 deaths from stroke occurred. Results - After adjustment for systolic blood pressure, smoking, BMI, diabetes, and socioeconomic status, the relative risk (RR) among men who consumed alcohol <0.5 times per week was 0.70 (95% CI, 0.30-1.66; P = 0.419) compared with nondrinkers. Respective RR was 1.08 (95% CI, 0.51-2.27; P = 0.846) for men with alcohol consumption of 0.5-2.5 times per week and 2.44 (95% CI, 1.11-5.40; P = 0.027) for men who consumed alcohol >2.5 times per week after adjustment for risk factors. When the total amount of alcohol consumption (g/week) was taken into account with other covariates, RR was 0.71 (95% CI, 0.30-1.68; P = 0.437) for men with alcohol consumption <0.5 times per week and 1.16 (95% CI, 0.54-2.50; P = 0.704) among men who consumed alcohol 0.5-2.5 times per week. Among men who consumed alcohol >2.5 times per week compared with nondrinkers, RR was 3.03 (95% CI, 1.19-7.72; P = 0.020). Conclusions - This study shows a strong association between the frequency of alcohol consumption and stroke mortality, independent of total amount of alcohol consumption. The risk of stroke death was the highest among men who consumed alcohol > 2.5 times per week.