This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) All Versions of this Article: 40/9/2953    most recent STROKEAHA.109.556027v1 Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Request Permissions Google Scholar Articles by Sull, J. W. Articles by Ohrr, H. PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Sull, J. W. Articles by Ohrr, H. Pubmed/NCBI databases Medline Plus Health Information Alcohol Stroke Related Collections Primary prevention Risk Factors Risk Factors for Stroke Epidemiology

(Stroke. 2009;40:2953.)
© 2009 American Heart Association, Inc.

Original Contributions

Binge Drinking and Mortality From All Causes and Cerebrovascular Diseases in Korean Men and Women

A Kangwha Cohort Study

Jae Woong Sull, PhD; Sang-Wook Yi, MD, PhD; Chung Mo Nam, PhD Heechoul Ohrr, MD, PhD

From the Institute for Health Promotion (J.W.S., H.O.), Graduate School of Public Health, Yonsei University, Seoul, Korea; the Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health (S.-W.Y.), Kwandong University College of Medicine, Gangneung, Korea; and the Department of Preventive Medicine (C.M.N., H.O.), Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.

Correspondence to Heechoul Ohrr, MD, PhD, Department of Preventive Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea, Institute for Health Promotion, Graduate School of Public Health, Yonsei University, Seoul, Korea. E-mail ohrr{at}yuhs.ac

Background and Purpose— The purpose of this study was to examine the association between binge drinking and risks of mortality due to all causes of death with a focus on cerebrovascular disease in Korean men and women.

Methods— This study followed a cohort of 6291 residents in Kangwha County, aged 55 years in March 1985, for their cause-specific mortality for 20.8 years up to December 31, 2005. We calculated hazard ratio of mortality by experience or frequency of binge drinking using the Cox proportional hazard model. Binge drinking was defined as having 6 drinks on one occasion.

Results— In men, binge drinkers who drink daily had an increased risk of mortality from all causes (hazard ratio, 1.33; 95% CI, 1.11 to 1.60) as compared with nondrinkers. They showed much increased risks of mortality from total stroke (hazard ratio, 1.86; 95% CI, 1.16 to 2.99) and hemorrhagic stroke (hazard ratio, 3.39; 95% CI, 1.38 to 8.35). Female binge drinkers also showed an increased risk of mortality from cardiovascular disease as compared with female nondrinkers, but the outcome was not statistically significant.

Conclusions— The results of this study suggest that frequent binge drinking has a harmful effect on hemorrhagic stroke in Korean men. These findings need to be confirmed in further studies.

Key Words: alcohol consumption • binge drinking • hemorrhagic stroke mortality