A longitudinal investigation of the relationships among alcohol consumption, psychosocial factors, and blood pressure.

Although a number of studies have demonstrated a link between alcohol intake and blood pressure, virtually no research has examined this relationship or the relevance of psychosocial variables in this context over time. This study utilized data from 416 subjects in the Air Traffic Controller Health Change Study to track these associations across five examinations over a 3-year period. Following obesity, alcohol consumption was consistently the second-best predictor of blood pressure. Alcohol intake rose among those subjects who developed sustained elevated blood pressure during the course of the study. Further, obesity became less important in predicting blood pressure at higher levels of alcohol intake. Factors predictive of alcohol use were also studied, and the suggestion is made that psychosocial variables may be linked primarily to alcohol use, which in turn combines with obesity to influence blood pressure levels.