 Article
|
|
|
|
Services
|
|
|
|
Google Scholar
|
|
|
|
PubMed
|
|
Articles in PubMed by Author:
|
 |
PubMed
|  |
|
|
REPLY
Alcohol and Congestive Heart Failure
Craig R. Walsh, MD, and
Daniel Levy, MD
7 January 2003 | Volume 138 Issue 1 | Pages 75-76
IN RESPONSE:
Dr. Dong raises interesting questions about the influence of genetic variation in alcohol metabolism on the association between alcohol consumption and risk for congestive heart failure. Polymorphisms of the ADH2 and ALDH2 genes are relatively uncommon in populations of white ethnicity (1) and are therefore unlikely to substantially affect the association between alcohol consumption and congestive heart failure in our study, which was conducted in a largely white sample. Caution is warranted in extrapolating our findings to nonwhite populations in which polymorphisms of ADH2 and ALDH2 are common.
As Dr. Dong correctly points out, genetic polymorphisms of the ADH3 gene, which are present in 40% to 50% of white persons, are associated with risk for myocardial infarction (2). The protective effects of the slow-metabolizing ADH3 polymorphism against myocardial infarction are, in part, mediated through beneficial effects on high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels (2). Whether drinkers who are homozygous for the slow-metabolizing ADH3 polymorphism are protected against congestive heart failure due to coronary heart disease deserves further investigation.
|
Author and Article Information
|
|---|
Framingham Heart Study, Framingham, MA 01702 (Walsh, Levy)
1. Bosron WF, Lumeng L, Li TK. Genetic polymorphism of enzymes of alcohol metabolism and susceptibility to alcoholic liver disease Mol Aspects Med. 1988;10:147-58. [PMID: 3067025].[Medline]
2. Hines LM, Stampfer MJ, Ma J, Gaziano JM, Ridker PM, Hankinson SE, et al. Genetic variation in alcohol dehydrogenase and the beneficial effect of moderate alcohol consumption on myocardial infarction N Engl J Med. 2001;344:549-55. [PMID: 11207350].[Abstract/Free Full Text]
About Letters
The Editors welcome submissions for possible publication in the Letters section. Authors of letters should:
•Include no more than 300 words of text, three authors, and five references
•Type with double-spacing
•Send three copies of the letter, an authors' form signed by all authors, and a cover letter describing any conflicts of interest related to the contents of the letter.
Letters commenting on an Annals article will be considered if they are received within 6 weeks of the time the article was published. Only some of the letters received can be published. Published letters are edited and may be shortened; tables and figures are included only selectively. Authors will be notified that the letter has been received. If the letter is selected for publication, the author will be notified about 3 weeks before the publication date. Unpublished letters cannot be returned.
Annals welcomes electronically submitted letters.
Related articles in Annals:
-
Articles
Alcohol Consumption and Risk for Congestive Heart Failure in the Framingham Heart Study
Craig R. Walsh, Martin G. Larson, Jane C. Evans, Luc Djousse, R. Curtis Ellison, Ramachandran S. Vasan, AND Daniel Levy
- Annals 2002 136: 181-191.
[ABSTRACT][SUMMARY][Full Text]
Top
Author & Article Info
References