Alcohol consumption, hypertension, and total mortality among women.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Moderate alcohol consumption is associated with a reduced risk of total mortality among Caucasian women. Whether moderate alcohol consumption is associated with a reduced risk of total mortality among African-American or hypertensive women is unclear.

Methods

We conducted a prospective study among 10,576 black and 105,610 white postmenopausal women from the Women's Health Initiative (WHI), without a history of cancer or cardiovascular disease, who completed the baseline examinations in 1994-1998.

Results

During the mean 8 years of follow-up, 5,608 women died. Moderate drinking (1 to <7 drinks/week) was associated with a lower risk of total mortality among Caucasians (hazard ratio (HR) = 0.81, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.72-0.91) and hypertensives (HR =

SUBMITTER: Freiberg MS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3104852 | biostudies-literature | 2009 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature