Renal impairment and moderate alcohol consumption in the elderly. Results from the Italian Longitudinal Study on Aging (ILSA)

Institute of Neurosciences, CNR–Padua, ItalySubmitted 13 July 2010: Accepted 14 March 2011: First published online 1 June 2011AbstractObjective: The influence of moderate alcohol consumption on renal function is notclear in elderly people. The aim of the present study was to investigate the rela-tionship between alcohol consumption and renal function, expressed as serumcreatinine levels and glomerular filtration rates (GFR), in an elderly population.Design: Perspective cohort study.Setting: Population-based study on an elderly Italian population.Subjects: A sample of 3404 Italian people (1619 women and 1785 men), aged65–84 years, from the Italian Longitudinal Study on Aging (ILSA).Results: Prevalence and cumulative risk of impaired renal function (defined asGFR#60ml/min) were estimated by sex and alcohol consumption groups. Logisticregression analysis adjusting for confounders (age, education, smoking, BMI andmedications) and intermediate factors (blood cholesterol and fibrinogen, systolichypertension and diabetes) showed that alcohol consumption level was not sig-nificantly related to the prevalence of mild renal impairment in elderly women. Inmen, both prevalence and incidence resul ts seemed to suggest an inverse linearrelationship between moderate alcohol consumption and the risk of mild renalimpairment. A U-shaped association was shown for women at the incidence phase,suggesting a higher risk of developing ren al impairment for women who drink morethan 24g alcohol/d.Conclusions: Our results suggest that, in accordance with the recommendations onalcohol consumption in the elderly, moderat e quantities of alcohol are not injuriousto renal function in elderly men.KeywordsCohort studyDrinkingAlcoholic beveragesRenal dysfunctionThe literature evidence indicates that moderate alcoholconsumption is associated with a lower risk level for anumber of cardiovascular risk factors such as lipoprotein,glucose metabolism, haemostatic and inflammatory mar-kers in the elderly