Addictive behaviors, such as cigarette smoking and coffee drinking, have been associated with a reduced risk of Parkinson's disease (PD). Whether alcohol consumption is also associated with PD risk is less certain. We prospectively followed 132,403 participants in the Cancer Prevention Study II Nutrition Cohort from 1992 to 2005. Alcohol intake was assessed at baseline. Incident cases of PD (n = 605; 389 male and 216 female) were confirmed by treating physicians and medical record review. Relative risks (RRs) were estimated using proportional hazards models, adjusting for age, smoking, and other risk factors. Alcohol consumption was not significantly associated with PD risk. After adjustment for age, smoking, and other risk factors, the RR comparing men consuming 30 or more grams of alcohol per day (highest category) to nondrinker men was 1.29 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.90, 1.86; P trend: 0.40), and the RR comparing women consuming 15 or more grams of alcohol (highest category) per day to nondrinker women was 0.77 (95% CI: 0.41, 1.45; P trend: 0.87). Consumption of beer, wine, or liquor was also not associated with PD risk. The results of this large, prospective study do not support an association between alcohol intake and risk of PD.
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the possible association of cigarette smoking, coffee drinking, and wine consumption with essential tremor using a matched case-control design. Cases and controls were enrolled from 6 Movement Disorder centers in central-southern Italy. Essential tremor was diagnosed according to Bain's criteria. Three unrelated healthy controls (not affected by neurological disorders) per each enrolled case, matched by sex and age (+/-5 years), were selected. A standardized questionnaire was administered to record demographic, epidemiological, and clinical data. All cases and controls underwent a standard neurological examination. Adjusted odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals were estimated using conditional logistic regression for the matched cases and controls. Eighty-three patients with essential tremor (38 men and 45 women; mean age, 68.2 +/- 8.6 years) and 245 matched control subjects (113 men and 132 women; mean age, 68.4 +/- 9.7 years) were enrolled in the study. Multivariate analysis showed a significant negative association between essential tremor and wine consumption preceding the onset of disease (adjusted odds ratio, 0.23; 95% confidence interval, 0.08-0.64; P = .0005) with a significant dose effect (1-2 glass of wine per day: odds ratio, 0.32; 95% confidence interval, 0.10-0.95; P = .04; more than 3 glass of wine per day: odds ratio, 0.14; 95% confidence interval, 0.03-0.62; P = .01). In our sample no association between essential tremor and cigarette smoking or coffee drinking was found. Our data suggest a negative association between wine drinking and essential tremor, which could be explained by the long-term neuroprotective effect of its antioxidant components.
Abstract The relationship between exposure to lifestyle factors and adverse effects on human reproductive health is debated in the scientific literature and these controversies have increased public and regulatory attention. The aim of the study was to examine the association between modifiable lifestyle factors and main semen parameters, sperm morphology, and sperm chromatin structure. The study population consisted of 344 men who were attending an infertility clinic for diagnostic purposes with normal semen concentration of 20-300 M/ml or with slight oligozoospermia (semen total concentration of 15-20 M/ml) [WHO 1999]. Participants were interviewed and provided semen samples. The interview included questions about demographics, socio-economic status, medical history, lifestyle factors (consumption of alcohol, tobacco, coffee intake, cell phone and sauna usage), and physical activity. The results of the study suggest that lifestyle factors may affect semen quality. A negative association was found between increased body mass index (BMI) and semen volume (p = 0.03). Leisure time activity was positively associated with sperm concentration (p = 0.04) and coffee drinking with the percentage of motile sperm cells, and the percentage of sperm head and neck abnormalities (p = 0.01, p = 0.05, and p = 0.03, respectively). Drinking red wine 1-3 times per week was negatively related to sperm neck abnormalities (p = 0.01). Additionally, using a cell phone more than 10 years decreased the percentage of motile sperm cells (p = 0.02). Men who wore boxer shorts had a lower percentage of sperm neck abnormalities (p = 0.002) and percentage of sperm with DNA damage (p = 0.02). These findings may have important implications for semen quality and Lifestyle.
BACKGROUND: Numerous studies have reported inverse associations of coffee, tea, and alcohol intake with risk of type 2 diabetes, but none has reported results separately among African American women.
OBJECTIVE: We prospectively examined the relation of coffee, tea, and alcohol consumption to diabetes risk in African American women.
DESIGN: The study included 46,906 Black Women's Health Study participants aged 30-69 y at baseline in 1995. Dietary intake was assessed in 1995 and 2001 by using a validated food-frequency questionnaire. During 12 y of follow-up, there were 3671 incident cases of type 2 diabetes. Relative risks (RRs) and 95% CIs were estimated by using Cox proportional hazards models adjusted for diabetes risk factors.
RESULTS: Multivariable RRs for intakes of 0-1, 1, 2-3, and >/=4 cups of caffeinated coffee/d relative to no coffee intake were 0.94 (95% CI: 0.86, 1.04), 0.90 (95% CI: 0.81, 1.01), 0.82 (95% CI: 0.72, 0.93), and 0.83 (95% CI: 0.69, 1.01), respectively (P for trend = 0.003). Multivariable RRs for intakes of 1-3, 4-6, 7-13, and >/=14 alcoholic drinks/wk relative to never consumption were 0.90 (95% CI: 0.82, 1.00), 0.68 (95% CI: 0.57, 0.81), 0.78 (95% CI: 0.63, 0.96), and 0.72 (95% CI: 0.53, 0.98), respectively (P for trend < 0.0001). Intakes of decaffeinated coffee and tea were not associated with risk of diabetes.
CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that African American women who drink moderate amounts of caffeinated coffee or alcohol have a reduced risk of type 2 diabetes.