This study examined the relationships between alcohol consumption and risk of dyslipidemia according to facial flushing caused by drinking in Korean males.
Among the male patients who visited Health Promotion Center of Chungnam National University Hospital in Daejeon from January to December in 2013, 1,443 males (261 nondrinkers, 470 subjects with drinking-related facial flushing, and 712 subjects without drinking-related facial flushing) were selected. After adjusting for confounding factors such as age, body mass index, waist circumference, smoking, exercise, hypertension, and type 2 diabetes mellitus, a multiple logistic regression analysis was performed to assess the risk of dyslipidemia in the facial flushing and nonfacial flushing groups compared with the nondrinkers.
The following results were obtained.
After adjusting for confounding factors, the risk of low HDL-cholesterol was decreased in flushers with a weekly alcohol consumption of 8 drinks (1 standard drink = 14 g alcohol) ≤ < 16 drinks (adjusted odds ratio [adjusted OR] 0.23, 95% confidence interval [95% CI], 0.10―0.54) and 16 ≤: adjusted OR 0.34, 95% CI 0.17―0.71. In case of nonflushers, the risk of low HDL-cholesterol was significantly decreased in all weekly alcohol consumption groups(<4 drinks: adjusted OR 0.43, 95% CI 0.28―0.66; 4≤ <8 drinks: adjusted OR 0.41, 95% CI 0.22―0.77; 8≤ <16 drinks: adjusted OR 0.29, 95% CI 0.15―0.54; 16≤ drinks: adjusted OR 0.34 95% CI 0.21―0.57). The risk of hypertriglyceridemia was increased in the nonflusher group with a weekly alcohol consumption 4≤ <8 drinks: adjusted OR 1.76, 95% CI 1.76―2.96 and 16≤ drinks:adjusted OR 1.76, 95% CI 1.15―2.68 in the nonflushers. Interestingly, the risk of hypertriglyceridemia was slightly decreased in the flushers with a weekly alcohol consumption of 8≤ <16 drinks: adjusted OR 0.29, 95% CI 0.13―0.65. The risk of high LDL-cholesterol and hypercholesterolemia was not significantly related to alcohol consumption among all groups.
Our results suggest that the benefit of alcohol consumption to protect low-HDL cholesterol is lower in the flushers than in the nonflushers. and the weekly alcohol amount to induce hypertriglyce -ridemia is not clear in the flushers, not like that of the nonflushers.