Abstract
While there is a clear consensus in the epdemiologic literature on the direct association between alcohol consumption and Wood pressure, the shape of this relation and its strength in blacks are uncertain. Therefore, the association between alcohol and blood pressure was examined in a community-based random sample of 1,784 black adults aged 25 to 50 years living in eastern North Carolina. These individuals were interviewed in 1988 for a study of psychosocial and dietary risk factors for elevated blood pressure. Alcohol consumption was estimated from responses to a food frequency questionnaire and was divided into four categories, which ranged from abstention (52% of the sample) to ≥ seven drinks/week (12%). After adjustment for age and body mass, the systolic blood pressure of adults reporting ≥ seven drinks/week exceeded that of nondrinkers by 6.8 mmHg for men and women (p < 0.001). There was no evidence of a threshold effect, and similar patterns were observed for diastolic blocd pressure. Being in the highest category of alcohol consumption was related to low sockeconomic status, lower social integration, and higher levels of sochmnomic stressors. These data are consistent with a graded association between alcohol and blood pressure in black adutts and suggest the importance of social factors underlying this association.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 442-450 |
| Number of pages | 9 |
| Journal | American Journal of Epidemiology |
| Volume | 133 |
| Issue number | 5 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Mar 1 1991 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:Received for publication April 12, 1990, and in final form July 30, 1990. 1 Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, State University of New York at Albany and New York State Department of Heatth, Albany, NY. 2 Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, and Survey Research Center, Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Ml. 3 Department of Nutrition, School of Public Health, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC. 4 Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of Minnesota, Mmneapote, MN. 5 Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of North Carolina, Chapel HdJ, NC. Repnnt requests to Dr. David S. Strogatz, New York State Department of Health, Coming Tower, Room 557, Albany, NY 12237. This research is supported by grant HL33211 from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. The authors are grateful to Chris Garhartt and Rodney Jackson for their assistance and advice on this manuscript.
Funding
Received for publication April 12, 1990, and in final form July 30, 1990. 1 Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, State University of New York at Albany and New York State Department of Heatth, Albany, NY. 2 Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, and Survey Research Center, Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Ml. 3 Department of Nutrition, School of Public Health, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC. 4 Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of Minnesota, Mmneapote, MN. 5 Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of North Carolina, Chapel HdJ, NC. Repnnt requests to Dr. David S. Strogatz, New York State Department of Health, Coming Tower, Room 557, Albany, NY 12237. This research is supported by grant HL33211 from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. The authors are grateful to Chris Garhartt and Rodney Jackson for their assistance and advice on this manuscript.
| Funders | Funder number |
|---|---|
| National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) | R01HL033211 |
Keywords
- Alcohol drinking
- Blacks
- Blood pressure
- Diet
- Hypertension
- Psychosodal deprivation
- Socia1 class
- Socioeconomic factors
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- General Medicine