Abstract
Introduction: Associations between alcohol consumption and the risk of cardiovascular disease, including myocardial infarction and coronary heart disease, are mediated, in large part, by the differential influence on the lipid levels. This study aimed to compare the lipid levels among alcohol consumers and non-consumers.
Methodology: An observational study was designed to study the lipid levels among alcohol consumers and compare them against non-consumers. Persons taking approximately 26 ml of alcohol per day, for at least three to five days per week for at least five years were labelled as alcohol consuming participants. Subjects who had never consumed alcohol in life were labelled as non-alcohol consuming participants. Lipid levels of alcohol consuming and non-consuming participants were compared using independent t test in SPSS software.
Results: A total of 100 alcohol consuming (Group I) and 50 non-alcohol consuming (Group II) participants were included in the study. HDL cholesterol was similar in alcohol consuming as well as non-alcohol consuming participants. LDL cholesterol was found to be significantly higher among alcohol consuming participants (139.43 ± 35.03 vs 128.62 ± 30.43 mg/dl, p value < 0.05). Total cholesterol was also found to be significantly higher among alcohol consuming participants (193.41 ± 23.54 vs 185.48 ± 26.30 mg/dl, p value < 0.05). Serum triglycerides were found to be higher among alcohol consuming participants as compared to alcohol non-consuming participants, however the difference was not statistically significant.
Conclusions: The present study showed that heavy alcohol consumption is associated with significantly higher levels of serum triglycerides, total cholesterol, low density lipoprotein and decreased level of serum high density lipoproteins.
Keywords: alcohol, lipid, cardiovascular risk.
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Corresponding Author
Dr Deepa N. Alloli
Department of Anaesthesiology, Al-Ameen Medical College
Athani Road, Vijayapur-586108, Karnataka
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.18535/jmscr/v6i7.22
