RESUMO
Ethanol is a central nervous system depressant that is widely consumed worldwide. When consumed chronically, it may have several consequences to the organism, such as oxidative stress. Ethanol metabolism increases the production of oxidant molecules and its consumption may cause changes in enzymatic and non-enzymatic systems that maintain cellular homeostasis. The activity of endogenous enzymes and lipid peroxidation are altered in alcohol consumers. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate oxidative stress parameters in ethanol users compared to a control group. For that, the activity of the enzymes superoxide dismutase, catalase, and glutathione peroxidase, the ferric reducing/antioxidant power (FRAP), and malondialdehyde were evaluated. The influence of the amount of ethanol consumed on the analyzed parameters was also verified. The group of alcohol users consisted of 52 volunteers, 85% male and 15% female, with a mean age of 41±13 years. The control group consisted of 50 non-drinkers, 40% male and 60% female, with a mean age of 50±10 years. There was a significant difference in superoxide dismutase (P<0.001) and malondialdehyde (P=0.007) measurements between groups, as both parameters were increased in the group of ethanol users. Because of the higher amount of ethanol consumed, there was an increase of the catalase activity parameters and gradual reduction of FRAP. Thus, the ethanol-consuming participants were most likely under oxidative stress.
RESUMO
BACKGROUND: Cardiovascular diseases are major cause of death. In many countries, several studies reported moderate alcohol drink reduces cardiovascular diseases. High sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) is useful as a biochemical marker that can evaluate the risk of cardiovascular diseases. This study investigated the association between alcohol consumption and hsCRP. METHODS: The subjects included 769 men and 449 women who had visited a health promotion center in one university hospital from May 2006 to June 2006. They responded to self-reported questionnaire on past medical history, quantity and frequency of alcohol intake. Blood sample was taken to examine hsCRP, total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, and triglyceride. The participants were classified into 4 groups in males and 3 groups in females by alcohol intake quantity. Using general linear model, analysis of covariance was done to evaluate the association between hsCRP and alcohol intake quantity after adjusting for smoking, body mass index, blood pressure, age, total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, and triglycerides. RESULTS: Men who had drunk 1~4 drinks weekly had the lowest hsCRP. And a U-shaped correlation between alcohol intake quantity and hsCRP was found (P for U- shape trend test=0.059). In women, hsCRP decreased as the alcohol intake quantity increased (P for linear trend test= 0.0002). CONCLUSION: In Korean males, U-shaped relationship was found between hsCRP and alcohol intake quantity. In Korean females, inverse relationship was found between them.