Association between alcohol consumption and all-cause mortality, cardiovascular disease, and chronic kidney disease

Researchers conducted a prospective study examining the relationship between different types of alcoholic beverages and the risk of all-cause mortality, cardiovascular disease (CVD), and chronic kidney disease (CKD), and sought to identify the thresholds of safe dose stratified by sex using data from the UK Biobank.
502,490 participants were were initially registered between 2006 and 2010, and underwent reassessment between 2012 and 2013. All participants completed a detailed questionnaire on their alcohol consumption, including total alcohol consumption yesterday, weekly consumption of red wine, champagne plus white wine, beer, spirits, and fortified wine. All-cause mortality and the incidence of CVD and CKD were considered as the primary outcomes. 2852 participants reported CKD during a median follow-up period of 11.94 years, while 79,958 participants reported CVD over a median follow-up period of 11.35 years. 18,923 participants died over a median follow-up period of 11.89 years.
After adjusting for variables such as age, sex, education level, smoking status, diet score, and exercise score, total alcohol consumption showed a U-shaped relationship with the risk of CVD and all-cause mortality, but showed an inverse association with the risk of CKD. Upon further classification of alcoholic beverages, the analysis revealed that red wine, champagne plus white wine, beer, spirits, and fortified wine presented a U-shaped relationship with the risk of all-cause mortality and CKD. However, spirits were positively associated with the risk of CVD. Only red wine, champagne plus white wine, beer, and fortified wine showed a U-shaped relationship with the risk of CVD. The safe doses of total alcohol consumption should be < 11 g/d for males and < 10g for females, red wine consumption should be < 7 glasses/week for males and < 6 for females, champagne plus white wine consumption should be < 5 glasses/week, and fortified wine consumption should be < 4 glasses/week.
Red wine, champagne plus white wine, beer, and fortified wine below the corresponding thresholds of safe dose in this analysis were significantly associated with a lower risk of all-cause mortality, CVD, and CKD. And these alcoholic beverages under safe doses exhibited a protective effect against conditions like diabetes, depression, dementia, epilepsy, liver cirrhosis, and other digestive diseases, while didn’t increase the risk of cancer.
The authors comment that “the findings suggested people should moderate their alcohol consumption according to the type of alcoholic beverages (below the thresholds of safe dose) as part of a healthy lifestyle. This approach can help protect their kidney health without increasing the risk of other health-related adverse outcomes”.
Source: Shao L, Chen Y, Zhao Z, Luo S. Association between alcohol consumption and all-cause mortality, cardiovascular disease, and chronic kidney disease: A prospective cohort study. Medicine (Baltimore). 2024 Jul 5;103(27):e38857.