Evidence for a positive association between pulmonary function and wine intake in a population-based study

Background: Lung function is a strong predictor of cardiovascular and all-cause mortality. Previous studies suggest that alcohol exposure may be linked to impaired pulmonary function through oxidant-antioxidant mechanisms. Alcoholic beverages may be an important source of oxidants and antioxidants. We analyzed the relation of beverage- specific alcohol intake with forced expiratory volume in one second “FEV1” and forced vital capacity “FVC” in a random sample of 1555 residents of Western New York, USA. Methods: We expressed pulmonary function as percent of predicted normal FEV1 “FEV1%” and FVC “FVC%” after adjustment for height, age, gender, and race. To obtain information on alcohol intake we used a questionnaire that reliably queries total alcohol and beverage-specific recent “past 30 days” and lifetime alcohol consumption. Results: Using multiple linear regression analysis after adjustment for covariates “pack-years of smoking, weight, smoking status, education, nutritional factors, and for FEV1%, in addition, eosinophil count”, we observed no significant correlation between total alcohol intake and lung function. However, we found positive associations of recent and lifetime wine intake with FEV1% and FVC%. When we analyzed white and red wine intake separately, the association of lung function with red wine was weaker than with white wine. Conclusion: While total alcohol intake was not related to lung function, wine intake showed a positive association with lung function. Although we cannot exclude residual confounding by healthier lifestyle in wine drinkers, differential effects of alcoholic beverages on lung health may exist.