Is the Apparent Cardioprotective Effect of Recent Alcohol Consumption Due to Confounding by Prodromal Symptoms?
Previous research has reported a protective association between alcohol drinking and acute coronary heart disease in the 24-hour period after drinking. This study investigated whether this apparent protective association resulted from confounding due to the effect of prodromal symptoms on drinking behavior. In 1992, the authors conducted a case-control study that measured recent alcohol consumption and reasons for recent abstention from alcohol among patients with acute coronary heart disease identified from a community-based disease register and a representative control sample from the same community (Auckland, New Zealand). Cases were significantly more likely than controls to report recent abstention from drinking because they felt unwell. In unadjusted analyses, a protective association was observed between recent alcohol consumption and acute coronary heart disease; however, this association was weakened considerably after adjustment for the effect of prodromal symptoms on drinkin
