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Influence of Alcohol Consumption on the Risk of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Among Women in the Nurses’ Health Study Cohorts
Author(s) -
Barbhaiya Medha,
Lu Bing,
Sparks Jeffrey A.,
Malspeis Susan,
Chang ShunChiao,
Karlson Elizabeth W.,
Costenbader Karen H.
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
arthritis care and research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.032
H-Index - 163
eISSN - 2151-4658
pISSN - 2151-464X
DOI - 10.1002/acr.22945
Subject(s) - medicine , hazard ratio , proportional hazards model , confounding , confidence interval , prospective cohort study , cohort study , rheumatoid arthritis , unit of alcohol , relative risk , alcohol , alcohol consumption , biochemistry , chemistry
Objective Moderate alcohol consumption has antiinflammatory properties and is associated with reduced cardiovascular disease and rheumatoid arthritis risks. We investigated the association between alcohol consumption and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) risk among women followed in the Nurses’ Health Study (NHS) cohorts. Methods We conducted a prospective cohort analysis among 204,055 women in NHS (1980–2012) and NHSII (1989–2011) who were free of connective tissue disease and provided alcohol information at baseline. Alcohol consumption was assessed using a semiquantitative food frequency questionnaire every 2–4 years. We validated incident SLE through medical record review after self‐report. Cox proportional hazards models estimated hazard ratios (HRs) for SLE based on cumulative average alcohol intake, adjusting for potential confounders. Results were meta‐analyzed using DerSimonian and Laird random‐effects models. We further investigated SLE risk associated with wine, beer, and liquor intake. Results We identified 125 incident SLE cases in NHS and 119 in NHSII. Mean ± SD age at SLE diagnosis was 55.8 ± 9.5 years in NHS and 43.4 ± 7.7 years in NHSII. Compared to no alcohol intake, the meta‐analyzed multivariable HR for cumulative alcohol consumption ≥5 gm/day was 0.61 (95% confidence interval [95% CI] 0.41–0.89). When limiting alcohol exposure to >4 years prior to SLE diagnosis, the multivariable HR was similar: 0.61 (95% CI 0.41–0.91). Women who drank ≥2 servings/week of wine had significantly decreased SLE risk (HR 0.65, 95% CI 0.45–0.96) compared to women who did not drink wine. Conclusion In these large prospective cohorts, we demonstrated an inverse association between moderate alcohol consumption (≥5 grams or 0.5 drink/day) and SLE risk in women.