|
THE RENAUD SOCIETY MEMBER BULLETIN BOARD
|
|
| Subject: January, 2009: Journal Watch: Alcohol & Heal |
Author: R. Curtis Ellison, MD
Date: 1/11/2009 7:13 am MST
|
Article: di Giuseppe R, de Lorgeril M, Salen P, Laporte F, Di Castelnuovo A, Krogh V, Siani A, Arnout J, Cappuccio FP, van Dongen M, Benedetta Donati M, de Gaetano G, Iacoviello L, on behalf of the European Collaborative Group of the IMMIDIET Project.
Alcohol consumption and n–3 polyunsaturated fatty acids in healthy men and women from 3 European populations. Am J Clin Nutr 2009;89:354–362.
Summary: The authors state that because high dietary and blood n–3 (omega-3) fatty acids (FAs) are protective against coronary heart disease and sudden cardiac death, the alcohol-associated increase in blood n–3 FAs could be considered an original mechanism of alcohol’s cardioprotective effect. Their objective was to assess whether alcohol consumption is associated with concentrations of very-long-chain ‘‘marine’’ (e.g., fish oil) n–3 FAs both in plasma and in red blood cell membranes. In the framework of the IMMIDIET (Dietary Habit Profile in European Communities with Different Risk of Myocardial Infarction: the Impact of Migration as a Model of Gene-Environment Interaction) Project, 1,604 subjects (802 women-men pairs), aged 26–65 years, were enrolled in Italy, Belgium, and England. A 1-year-recall food-frequency questionnaire was used to evaluate dietary intake.
Results showed that in fully adjusted multivariate analyses, alcohol intake was positively associated with plasma eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), and EPA 1 DHA concentrations (P <0.0001, P=0.036, and P=0.002, respectively) in women and with EPA and the EPA + DHA index in red blood cells (P <0.0001 and P =0.037, respectively). In men, only plasma and red blood cell EPA concentrations were associated with alcohol intake (P =0.003 and P =0.004, respectively). Stratified analyses showed an association between alcohol and both plasma and red cell EPA (P =0.008 and P =0.002, respectively), DHA (P =0.014 and P =0.008, respectively), and the EPA + DHA index (P =0.010 and P =0.006, respectively) in wine drinkers, whereas no association was found in those who drink beer and spirits. The authors conclude that alcohol intake was associated with higher plasma and red blood cell concentrations of marine n–3 FAs. Components of wine other than alcohol (polyphenols) might exert these effects. Part of the alcohol-induced cardioprotection may be mediated through increased marine n–3 FAs.
Comments: As we have noted in our reviews of two recent papers, an increase in omega-3 (n-3) fatty acids, found to be associated with alcohol consumption, could be important from at least two perspectives: it could be a new mechanism by which alcohol or wine could reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, and it could be a way for people who do not like fish to get these important fatty acids. Data strongly indicate that higher levels of n-3 fatty acids are associated with less heart disease, especially reducing the risk of sudden death.
The current paper included data from more than 1,200 men and women in Italy, Belgium, and England who were consumers of wine and more than 1,000 who consumed only beer or spirits. The findings support and extend previous findings by showing an increase in n-3 fatty acids among wine drinkers; there was a much less consistent relation between the consumption of beer or spirits and levels of n-3 fatty acids. This suggests that the polyphenols in wine may be playing a role in the increase in fatty acids. There were inadequate numbers of heavier consumers in this study to evaluate the effects of heavy drinking, although previous research has shown that large amounts of alcohol may decrease n-3 fatty acid levels.
Lay Summary : Higher levels of omega-3 (n-3) fatty acids, especially the longer-chain fatty acids generally associated with the intake of fish, are known to lower the risk of coronary heart disease, especially the risk of sudden cardiac death. A recent study among French subjects with heart disease (and an experiment in rats) demonstrated higher levels of n-3 fatty acids in the plasma among subjects consuming alcohol than among abstainers; the increase was unrelated to fish intake.
The present study of normal men and women from Italy, Belgium and England included large numbers of consumers of wine or of only beer/spirits. It confirms higher levels of n-3 fatty acids in drinkers, especially among consumers of wine. While mechanisms are still poorly understood, these findings are important in terms of suggesting an additional way by which moderate drinkers are protected against coronary heart disease. Further, it provides an alternative to fish consumption as a way of increasing levels of these key fatty acids.
|
|
| Topics |
Author |
Date |
|
|
|
|
R. Curtis Ellison, MD |
11/23/2008 7:29 am MST |
|
|
|
|
R. Curtis Ellison, MD |
11/23/2008 7:30 am MST |
|
|
|
|
R. Curtis Ellison, MD |
11/23/2008 7:32 am MST |
|
|
|
|
R. Curtis Ellison, MD |
12/12/2008 4:07 pm MST |
|
|
|
|
R. Curtis Ellison, MD |
1/11/2009 7:27 am MST |
|
|
|
   |
January, 2009: Journal Watch: Alcohol & Heal |
|
|
R. Curtis Ellison, MD |
1/11/2009 7:13 am MST |
|
|
|
|
