inverse association between serum leptin concentration and reported alcohol intake in patients with manifest vascular disease

• Published in: European journal of clinical nutrition Vol. 64; no. 11; pp. 1350 - 1357
• Main Authors: Mayer, O. Jr, Filipovsky, J, Galovcova, M, Bruthans, J, Hrbkova, J, Vrzalova, J, Cifkova, R, Simon, J
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 01.11.2010; Nature Publishing Group
• Subjects: 631/378/1488; 692/499; 692/699/75/593; Aged; Alcohol Drinking - blood; Alcohol use; Alcoholic beverages; Alcohols; Appetite; Beverages; biochemical mechanisms; Biological and medical sciences; biomarkers; blood serum; Cardiac patients; Cardiology. Vascular system; Cardiovascular disease; Cardiovascular diseases; Cerebrovascular diseases; Cerebrovascular Disorders - blood; Cerebrovascular Disorders - prevention & control; Clinical Nutrition; Coronary artery; Coronary Artery Disease - blood; Coronary Artery Disease - prevention & control; Coronary heart disease; Cross-Sectional Studies; Czech Republic; Dependent variables; disease prevention; dosage; dose response; drinking; Drinking behavior; Epidemiology; Ethanol - pharmacology; Feeding. Feeding behavior; Female; Food and nutrition; Food intake; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Health aspects; Health risks; Heart; Hormones; human diseases; Humans; Internal Medicine; Ischemia; Leptin; Leptin - blood; Male; Medical sciences; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Metabolic Diseases; Middle Aged; original-article; Physiological aspects; physiological regulation; protective effect; Public Health; Regression analysis; Risk Factors; Stroke; Vascular diseases; Vertebrates: anatomy and physiology, studies on body, several organs or systems; volume; Czech Republic; alcohol intake; EUROASPIRE; coronary heart disease; secondary prevention; leptin; stroke; Consumption; Human; Nervous system diseases; Stroke; Secondary; Cardiovascular disease; Alcohol; Metabolic diseases; Concentration; Coronary heart disease; Cerebral disorder; Case study; Vascular disease; Prevention; Association; Leptin; Central nervous system disease; Serum; Cerebrovascular disease
• ISSN: 0954-3007; 1476-5640; 1476-5640
• DOI: 10.1038/ejcn.2010.153

Background/Objectives: It has been reported that alcohol stimulates appetite. We aimed to establish the association between leptin, as a major food intake regulating factor, and alcohol intake in patients with chronic manifest coronary artery or cerebrovascular disease. Subjects/Methods: A cross-sectional study of 820 subjects after acute coronary syndrome, coronary revascularization or after first ischemic stroke (the Czech part of EUROASPIRE III surveys). Leptin concentrations were evaluated among predefined categories of reported weekly alcohol intake: abstainers, light drinkers (up to 2 drinks weekly, 1–44 g of pure alcohol), mild regular drinkers (3–14 drinks weekly, 45–308 g) and moderate or heavy drinkers (more than 15 drinks, 309 g of alcohol). Results: Leptin showed a clear negative trend among the alcohol intake categories. Mild regular drinkers showed significantly lower leptin levels (9.3(8.2) ng/ml) compared with abstainers (18.7(18.7) ng/ml, P<0.0001) and light occasional drinkers (14.2(17.8) ng/ml, P=0.00064). The negative association between leptin and alcohol intake as a dependent variable remained significant even after adjustment for potential confounders in multiple linear regression analysis (P=0.00032). Conclusions: Drinking of small amounts of alcohol was, in our setting, associated with decreased serum leptin concentration, with a possible benefit in terms of cardiovascular risk.