Alcohol and ideal cardiovascular health: The Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis

Background: Alcohol consumption is associated with cardiovascular disease (CVD), with moderate drinkers having decreased CVD risk compared to non- and heavy drinkers. However, whether alcohol consumption is associated with ideal cardiovascular health (CVH), assessed by the American Heart Association's (AHA) Life's Simple 7 (LS7) metrics, and whether associations differ by sex, is uncertain. Hypothesis: Heavy alcohol consumption is associated with worse CVH. Methods: We explored associations between alcohol consumption and CVH in a multi-ethnic population including 6506 participants free of CVD, aged 45 to 84 years. Each LS7 metric was scored 0 to 2 points. Total score was categorized as inadequate (0-8), average (9-10) and optimal (11-14). Participants were classified as never, former or current drinkers. Current drinkers were categorized as <1 (light), 1 to 2 (moderate) and >2 (heavy) drinks/day. Multinomial logistic regression models assessed associations between alcohol and CVH, adjusted for age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, income, and health insurance. Results: Mean (SD) age was 62 (10) years, 53% were women. Compared to never drinkers, those with >2 drinks/day were less likely to have average [0.61 (0.43-0.87)] and optimal CVH [0.29 (0.17-0.49)]. Binge drinking was also associated with unfavorable CVH. Overall, there was no independent association for light or moderate drinking with CVH. However, women with 1 to 2 drinks/day were more likely to have optimal CVH [1.85 (1.19-2.88)] compared to non-drinking women, which was not seen in men. Conclusion: Heavy alcohol consumption was associated with unfavorable CVH. Although light or moderate drinking may be associated with a more favorable CVH in women, overall, the association was not strong.