Alcohol Consumption, Hypertension, and Total Mortality Among Women

Abstract

Moderate alcohol consumption is associated with a reduced risk of total mortality among Caucasian women. Whether moderate alcohol consumption is associated with a reduced risk of total mortality among African-American or hypertensive women is unclear. We conducted a prospective study among 10,576 black and 105,610 white postmenopausal women from the Women's Health Initiative (WHI), without a history of cancer or cardiovascular disease, who completed the baseline examinations in 1994–1998. During the mean 8 years of follow-up, 5,608 women died. Moderate drinking (1 to American Journal of Hypertension 2009; 22:1212–1218 © 2009 American Journal of Hypertension, Ltd.