Moderate wine drinkers have lower hypertension-related mortality: a prospective cohort study in French men.

BACKGROUND For a given blood pressure, the risk of death from coronary artery disease is much higher in northern Europe and the United States than in Mediterranean countries. OBJECTIVE In this prospective cohort study, we tested the hypothesis that regular wine drinking reduces the hypertension-related risk of death. DESIGN We used data from 36 583 healthy middle-aged men who had normal results on an electrocardiogram and were not taking drugs for cardiovascular disease risk factors. The subjects underwent a comprehensive health appraisal at the Center for Preventive Medicine between 1 January 1978 and 31 December 1985. Mortality from all causes and from specific causes during a 13-21-y follow-up was recorded. RESULTS In a Cox model adjusted for 6 confounding variables, moderate wine drinkers (those who consumed <60 g alcohol/d and no beer) with systolic blood pressure (SBP) of 158, 139, or 116 mm Hg had significantly lower risks of death from all causes by 23%, 27%, and 37%, respectively, than did abstainers. Even for the highest quartile of blood pressure, moderate wine drinkers were protected from all-cause mortality. No significant reduction in all-cause mortality in relation to SBP was observed in other drinkers (those who consumed > or =60 g alcohol/d or who consumed beer and wine). CONCLUSION A moderate intake of wine is associated with a lower risk of mortality from all causes in persons with hypertension.