ArticleBMC public health2024
Mixed messages? Exposure to reports about alcohol's suggested cardiovascular effects and hazardous alcohol use: a cross-sectional study of patients in cardiology care.
Article in BMC public health, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
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
5 citing papers in PubMed.
- Support for alcohol policies and its association with knowledge of alcohol-related health consequences: findings from 5 EU countries.European journal of public health · 2026Article
- Factors associated with alcohol screening and brief interventions: a cross-sectional study of cardiology clinicians in Sweden.Addiction science & clinical practice · 2025Article
- Prevalence and gender-specific correlates of hazardous and binge drinking among Swedish and Finnish older adults.Alcohol, clinical & experimental research · 2025Article
- Alcohol use as a modifiable risk factor in cardiology: A qualitative study of patient perspectives in Sweden.PloS one · 2025Article
- Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundHazardous alcohol use is a leading risk factor for disability and death, yet observational studies have also reported reduced cardiovascular disease mortality among regular, low-level drinkers. Such findings are refuted by more recent research, yet have received significant media coverage. We aimed to explore: (1) how patients with cardiovascular diseases access health information about moderate drinking and cardiovascular health; (2) the perceived messages these sources convey, and (3) associations with own level of alcohol use.
methodsWe conducted a cross-sectional survey of patients in cardiology services at three hospitals in Sweden. The study outcome was hazardous alcohol use, assessed using the AUDIT-C questionnaire and defined as ≥ 3 in women and ≥ 4 in men. The exposure was accessing information sources suggesting that moderate alcohol consumption can be good for the heart, as opposed to accessing information that alcohol is bad for the heart. Health information sources were described using descriptive statistics. Gender, age and education were adjusted for in multiple logistic regression analyses.
resultsA total of 330 (66.3%) of 498 patients (mean age 70.5 years, 65% males) who had heard that drinking moderately can affect the heart described being exposed to reports that moderate alcohol use can be good for the heart, and 108 (21.7%) met criteria for hazardous alcohol use. Health information sources included newspapers (32.9%), television (29.2%), healthcare staff (13.4%), friends/family (11.8%), social media (8.9%) and websites (3.7%). Participants indicated that most reports (77.9%) conveyed mixed messages about the cardiovascular effects of moderate drinking. Exposure to reports of healthy heart effects, or mixed messages about the cardiovascular effects of alcohol, was associated with increased odds of hazardous alcohol use (OR = 1.67, 95%CI = 1.02-2.74).
conclusionsThis study suggests that many patients in cardiology care access health information about alcohol from media sources, which convey mixed messages about the cardiovascular effects of alcohol. Exposure to reports that moderate drinking has protective cardiovascular effects, or mixed messages about the cardiovascular effects of alcohol, was associated with increased odds of hazardous alcohol use. Findings highlight a need for clear and consistent messages about the health effects of alcohol.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.