Observational studyEuropean heart journal2015
Alcohol consumption and risk of heart failure: the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study.
Observational study in European heart journal, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 44 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
44 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 110 citations in OpenAlex.
- Cardiovascular disease burden in the homeless population.Open heart · 2025Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Alcohol consumption and the risk of heart failure: the Suita Study and meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies.Environmental health and preventive medicine · 2023Pooled it
- Self-Care for the Prevention and Management of Cardiovascular Disease and Stroke: A Scientific Statement for Healthcare Professionals From the American Heart Association.Journal of the American Heart Association · 2017Guideline
- Benefits and Risks of Moderate Alcohol Consumption on Cardiovascular Disease: Current Findings and Controversies.Nutrients · 2019Trial
- Alcohol Intake and Incidence of Heart Failure and Its Subtypes: VA Million Veteran Program.Nutrients · 2026Article
- The Link between Alcohol Consumption and Kidney Injury.The American journal of pathology · 2026Review
- Alcohol consumption and incident heart failure in men and women.European journal of heart failure · 2025Article
- The role of cut-off values for creatinine, blood urea nitrogen, and uric acid in prognostic assessment of chronic heart failure: a retrospective cohort study.BMC cardiovascular disorders · 2025Article
- Heart Failure in Atrial Fibrillation Subtypes in Women and Men in the Tromsø Study.JACC. Advances · 2025Article
- Alcohol Consumption and Cardiovascular Disease: A Narrative Review of Evolving Perspectives and Long-Term Implications.Life (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Review
- Alcoholic cardiomyopathy: an update.European heart journal · 2024Review
- The combined association of physical activity and alcohol use with long-term mortality: an age-stratified analysis.BMC public health · 2024Article
- Article
- Circulating thyroid hormones and clinical parameters of heart failure in men.Scientific reports · 2023Article
- Predictors for all-cause mortality in men after transcatheter aortic valve replacement: A report from the LAPLACE-TAVI registry.International journal of cardiology. Heart & vasculature · 2023Article
- Alcohol and Heart Failure.European cardiology · 2023Review
- Changes in Alcohol Consumption and Risk of Heart Failure: A Nationwide Population-Based Study in Korea.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- Habitual Alcohol Intake and Risk of Atrial Fibrillation in Young Adults in Korea.JAMA network open · 2022Article
- Moderate excess alcohol consumption and adverse cardiac remodelling in dilated cardiomyopathy.Heart (British Cardiac Society) · 2022Observational
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Authors and funding
9 authors at 5 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
Abstract
aimAlcohol is a known cardiac toxin and heavy consumption can lead to heart failure (HF). However, the relationship between moderate alcohol consumption and risk for HF, in either men or women, remains unclear. METHODS AND
resultsWe examined 14 629 participants of the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) study (54 ± 6 years, 55% women) without prevalent HF at baseline (1987-89) who were followed for 24 ± 1 years. Self-reported alcohol consumption was assessed as the number of drinks/week (1 drink = 14 g of alcohol) at baseline, and updated cumulative average alcohol intake was calculated over 8.9 ± 0.3 years. Using multivariable Cox proportional hazards models, we examined the relation of alcohol intake with incident HF and assessed whether associations were modified by sex. Overall, most participants were abstainers (42%) or former drinkers (19%), with 25% reporting up to 7 drinks per week, 8% reporting ≥7 to 14 drinks per week, and 3% reporting ≥14-21 and ≥21 drinks per week, respectively. Incident HF occurred in 1271 men and 1237 women. Men consuming up to 7 drinks/week had reduced risk of HF relative to abstainers (hazard ratio, HR 0.80, 95% CI 0.68-0.94, P = 0.006); this effect was less robust in women (HR 0.84, 95% CI 0.71-1.00, P = 0.05). In the higher drinking categories, the risk of HF was not significantly different from abstainers, either in men or in women.
conclusionIn the community, alcohol consumption of up to 7 drinks/week at early-middle age is associated with lower risk for future HF, with a similar but less definite association in women than in men. These findings suggest that despite the dangers of heavy drinking, modest alcohol consumption in early-middle age may be associated with a lower risk for HF.
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