RT Journal
A1 Castelli WP
T1 HOw many drinks a day?
JF JAMA
JO JAMA
YR 1979
FD November 2
VO 242
IS 18
SP 2000
OP 2000
DO 10.1001/jama.1979.03300180044032
UL http://dx.doi.org/10.1001/jama.1979.03300180044032
AB Alcohol has been the subject of much debate throughout the ages, and it continues to stimulate much of the same. The effects of alcohol are not all to one side of the medical issue. Indeed, recently there has been quite a bit of data to suggest that alcohol may have a beneficial effect on atherosclerosis, which may be seen in a lower rate of coronary heart disease (CHD) in some settings. Elsewhere in this issue (p 1973), Hennekens et al, in a novel approach toward reducing bias in a case-control study, have reported that alcohol has a protective effect against coronary disease. In addition, their study is one of the first to show that the good effect of drinking can be got from beer, wine, or spirits.Just how alcohol lowers the CHD rate is yet to be unraveled. At present the story seems to go as follows: Alcohol increases