Effect Modification of Acetaldehyde Dehydrogenase 2 rs671 Polymorphism on the Association between Alcohol Intake and Blood Pressure: the Dong-gu Study.

BACKGROUND

Elevated blood pressure is a major preventable cause of cardiovascular diseases. Alcohol consumption is a well-known risk factor of elevated blood pressure. The aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 () polymorphism is common in Eastern Asians, and inactive genotypes are associated with both avoiding alcohol consumption and aldehyde accumulation. Therefore, this study assessed the associations between alcohol consumption and hypertension and blood pressure according to the genotypes.

METHODS

This study consists of 8,526 participants in the Dong-gu Study. Multivariate logistic regression was used to calculate the odds ratio (OR) according to alcohol consumption after stratifying by gender and genotypes. Multivariate linear regression was performed to estimate the systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) according to the amount of alcohol consumed.

RESULTS

In men, alcohol consumption was positively associated with both SBP and DBP in active carriers, but not in inactive carriers. In active carriers, compared to non-drinkers, the OR of hypertension was 1.16 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.91-1.49) for < 1 drink/day, and 1.44 (95% CI, 1.15-1.80) for ≥ 1 drink/day in men. With each 1 drink/day increase, SBP and DBP increased by 3 and 1 mmHg in men, respectively. There was no significant association between genotypes and hypertension and blood pressure in women.

CONCLUSION

genotype modified the association between alcohol consumption and blood pressure in men. There was a positive relationship between alcohol consumption and blood pressure in active carriers, but no significant relationship in inactive carriers.