Alcohol consumption among older adults: Findings from the ELSI-Brazil study

The global burden of cardiovascular disease attributable to high alcohol use from 1990 to 2021: an analysis for the global burden of disease study 2021

Background

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are the leading global disease burden, with alcohol consumption closely linked to their occurrence. This study analyzes data from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021 (GBD 2021) to assess the distribution and trends of high alcohol use-related CVD from 1990 to 2021 across global, regional, and national levels.

Materials and methods

We used the data from the GBD 2021 to conduct stratification by region, country, gender, age, SDI, and disease type in terms of the number of deaths, age-standardized mortality rate (ASMR), disability-adjusted life years (DALYs), age-standardized rate of DALYs (ASDR), years lived with disability (YLDs), age-standardized rate of YLDs, years of life lost (YLLs), and age-standardized rate of YLLs to comprehensively assess the burden of high alcohol use-related CVD from 1990 to 2021. All statistical analyses in this study were performed using R statistical software (version 4.1.2).

Results

Between 1990 and 2021, global deaths, DALYs, YLDs, and YLLs attributable to high alcohol use-related CVD showed notable variation. By 2021, global deaths had doubled compared to 1990, while ASMR, ASDR, age-standardized YLD rate, and YLL rate all declined. Eastern Europe had the highest rates in 2021. Males consistently had higher ASMR, ASDR, YLD, and YLL rates compared to females, with the highest number of deaths occurring in the 70-74 age group, and the 65-69 age group showing the highest DALYs, YLDs, and YLLs. These rates increased with age. Stroke was the most common high alcohol use-related CVD, while ischemic heart disease (IHD) was the least common.

Conclusion

Between 1990 and 2021, the overall burden of high alcohol use-related CVD declined globally, though some regions experienced an increase. This highlights the need for continued public health efforts, particularly targeting high-risk regions and populations, to mitigate the impact of alcohol on cardiovascular health.

The role of differential exposure and susceptibility to heavy drinking linking income inequalities and tooth loss: An investigation of the alcohol harm paradox using a four-way decomposition analysis

OBJECTIVES

To examine the extent to which the effect of income inequalities on tooth loss is attributable to differential exposure and susceptibility to heavy drinking in older Brazilian adults.

METHODS

We conducted a secondary analysis using data from The Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSI-Brazil 2015-2016), a nationally representative sample of community-dwelling people aged 50 years and over. Causal mediation analysis based on the counterfactual outcome framework decomposed the effect of income on tooth loss mediated by heavy drinking into four components (four-way decomposition): controlled direct effect (neither mediation nor interaction), reference interaction (interaction only), mediated interaction (both mediation and interaction) and pure indirect effect (mediation only). Proportions of effect attributable to each component were calculated to estimate the differential exposure (the sum of the third and fourth components) and differential susceptibility (the sum of the second and third components) to heavy drinking.

RESULTS

The analytical sample comprised 8114 participants. After adjusting for covariates, 7.3% (95% CI: 3.8%; 10.9%) and -39.5% (95% CI: -75.8%; -3.3%) of the effects of income on tooth loss were attributable to differential exposure and susceptibility to heavy drinking, respectively, consistent with the alcohol harm paradox. When setting non-functional dentition as outcome, only the effect of differential susceptibility remained (-81.7% [95% CI: -128.2%; -35.2%]).

CONCLUSION

Our findings suggest that individuals of low-income groups appear to be more susceptible to the effects of heavy drinking on tooth loss.

Sex differences in the association between alcohol intake and cognitive decline over four years in a middle-aged cohort: the Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Adult Health

The association between alcohol intake and cognitive decline has been widely studied. Sex differences and cognitive domains affected by alcohol intake patterns make this topic overly complex.

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the effect of alcohol intake on cognition of middle-aged participants from ELSA-Brasil by sex during four-years of follow-up.

METHODS

7,595 participants (55% women) aged between 50 to 75 years at baseline were assessed. Semantic and phonemic fluency, memory, and executive functions were assessed at baseline (2008-2010) and repeated during Visit 2. Linear mixed models were used to investigate the association between cognition and current abstainers, never drinkers, light drinkers, moderate drinkers, and heavy drinkers.

RESULTS

Heavy alcohol intake accentuated the decline in executive functions for men (β = -0.01; p < 0.05), and in semantic fluency (β = -0.02; p < 0.05), and memory (β = -0.02; p < 0.05) for women. Never drinker's men also showed an accentuated decline in semantic fluency (β = -0.02; p < 0.01). Moderate alcohol intake slowed cognitive decline in phonemic fluency for men (β = 0.02, p < 0.01) and women (β = 0.01, p < 0.01) and in executive functions (β = 0.01, p < 0.05) for women.

CONCLUSIONS

Having more than 14 drinks per week can impact executive functions in men and memory in women. In addition, alcohol consumption of 7 to 14 drinks per week may have a protective effect on gender-specific cognitive functions. These findings should be considered in public health policies and guidelines on alcohol and cognitive aging.