MedWire News: The influence of smoking and drinking on
non-high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol levels is most
pronounced in middle-aged and elderly individuals, study findings
show.
Ichiro Wakabayashi (Hyogo College of Medicine, Japan) and Klaus
Groschner (Karl-Franzens-University, Austria) and colleagues
investigated interactions among habitual cigarette smoking, alcohol
consumption, and lipid levels in a large cohort of Japanese
men.
They obtained information from annual health screening for
54,020 men, of whom 7429 were aged 20-29 years, 9875 were aged
30-39 years, 18,206 were aged 40-49 years, 13,617 were aged 50-59
years, and 4893 were aged 60-69 years.
The researchers divided participants into three groups based on
their average ethanol consumption: non-drinkers; light drinkers
(<30 g/day); and heavy drinkers (≥30 g/day).
Participants were also classified into three groups by average
cigarette consumption: nonsmokers; light smokers (<20
cigarettes/day); and heavy smokers (≥20 cigarettes/day).
The study revealed that mean adjusted serum non-HDL cholesterol
levels were significantly higher in heavy smokers than in light
smokers among men aged 40 years and above. In younger men, non-HDL
cholesterol levels did not differ according to smoking status.
In nonsmokers, non-HDL levels were significantly lower in
drinkers than in non-drinkers among men aged 30 years and above.
Again, this difference was not seen in younger men.
Finally, in smokers, the difference in non-HDL cholesterol
levels between drinkers and non-drinkers tended to increase with
increasing age. This difference was also greater in smokers than in
non-smokers.
In their paper, which is published in Metabolism Clinical and
Experimental, Wakabayashi et al present a diagram
summarizing their findings and highlighting the fact that increased
non-HDL cholesterol is "a potent predictor of atherosclerotic
diseases."
They conclude: "Non-HDL cholesterol was higher and HDL
cholesterol was lower in smokers than in nonsmokers, while non-HDL
cholesterol was lower and HDL cholesterol was higher in drinkers
than in non-drinkers.
"Age modified these associations of smoking and drinking with
non-HDL cholesterol, and the atherogenic effects of smoking through
deteriorating blood lipid metabolism are thought to be greater in
the elderly than in the young."
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2010
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