High alcohol consumption increases stroke risk among C...( Heavy drinking may increase the risk...),Health

Heavy drinking may increase the risk of stroke in Chinese men and should be targeted for prevention strategies, according to a new study to be published online in the Annals of Neurology, a journal published by John Wiley & Sons. The article is also available online via Wiley Interscience (www.interscience.wiley.com).

In China, stroke is the leading cause of death for men; it kills more than 20 percent of the male population. It is also the top reason for long-term disability. High alcohol consumption is a known risk factor for stroke and alcohol use in China has increased in recent years alongside the countrys economic development. Researchers, led by Lydia Bazzano of Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, recently examined the relationship between alcohol consumption and stroke in a large nationally representative sample of Chinese men.

They conducted a prospective cohort study of 64,338 men who participated in the 1991 China National Hypertension Survey. At baseline, all of the men were over 40 years old and free of stroke. They provided information about their demographic characteristics, medical history and lifestyle risk factors, including alcohol consumption. Those who said they consumed more than 12 drinks per year were defined as drinkers, and then quantified the number of drinks they had each month. Between 1999 and 2000, the researchers followed up with the study participants and determined all incidents of stroke. For every such incident and for each death, medical records and death certificates were obtained to verify the diagnosis. The researchers then analyzed the data to assess any relationship between alcohol consumption and stroke.

At the time of follow-up, the participants had suffered 3,434 incident strokes and 1,848 fatal strokes. After adjusting for factors such as age, body mass index and geographic variation, the researchers found that th
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