The interaction of alcohol consumption and oral contraceptive use on lipids and lipoproteins.

ABSTRACT

PIP: The effects of alcohol consumption and oral contraceptive (OC) use on lipid and lipoprotein parameters were analyzed among 267 healthy women. Levels of cholesterol, low density lipoprotein (LDL)-B, triglycerides, LDL-cholesterol, and apolipoprotein A1 increased over the 6 months following OC initiation, while levels of high density lipoprotein (HDL)-cholesterol and the ratios HDL-cholesterol/LDL-cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol/cholesterol, and LDL-cholesterol/LDL-B tended to decrease with time. The greatest proportion of overall OC-related changes occurred between the baseline and 3-month measurement. Also observed was an association between baseline ethanol consumption and lipid parameters. Alcohol consumption was positively associated with triglycerides, HDL-cholesterol, and apolipoprotein A1 and negatively associated with LDL-cholesterol/LDL-B. After adjustment for several covariables, alcohol consumption was found to be positively associated with the increases in triglycerides and in apolipoprotein A1 observed at 3 and 6 months after initiation of OC use. The fact that apoliproprotein A1 levels increased with high levels of ethanol intake without a concurrent increase in HDL-cholesterol probably reflects substantial compositional changes in HDL. Overall, these findings suggest that women who initiate OC use can expect that the resulting increases in triglycerides and apolipoprotein A1 will be enhanced by baseline alcohol consumption. Since very high levels of triglycerides and low levels of apolipoprotein A1 are believed to be risk factors for cardiovascular disease, the net effect of alcohol consumption remains uncertain.