Smoking, alcohol drinking and non-fatal coronary heart disease in Hong kong Chinese

PURPOSE: To examine whether smoking, alcohol drinking and other risk factors were associated with non-fatal coronary heart disease (CHD) in Hong Kong Chinese. METHODS: A case control study was carried out with 598 CHD hospital cases (431 men, 167 women) and 1100 community controls (663 men, 43 7 women). Standardized questionnaires were used and blood lipids were measured using standard methods. RESULTS: Stepwise logistic regression models showed adjusted odds ratios (AOR) of 3.36 [95% confidence interval (Cl): 2.35 to 4.81] for smoking and 0.32 (95% Cl: 0.22 to 0.45) for alcohol drinking in men, and 6.50 (95% Cl: 2.61 to 16.19) and 0.15 (95% Cl: 0.08 to 0.30), respectively, in women. The OR increased with decreasing levels of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL) and increasing levels of triglycerides. No patterns were observed for body mass index (BMI), total and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL). The protective effect of drinking was observed for different types of drinks and frequency of drinking, although few drank alcohol more than 3 days per week. CONCLUSIONS: Smoking was a strong risk factor and moderate alcohol drinking was a protective factor for CHD, and low HDL and high triglyceride levels were important risk factors in Hong Kong Chinese. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.