Genetics
Alcohol only reduces heart disease risk in CETP TaqIB B2 carriers, especially among women, two large US cohort studies find (Eur Heart J 2008)
Original title: Alcohol consumption, TaqIB polymorphism of cholesteryl ester transfer protein, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and risk of coronary heart disease in men and women
This study investigated whether the CETP TaqIB polymorphism modifies the relationship between alcohol intake and both HDL-cholesterol and coronary heart disease (CHD) risk, using parallel nested case-control studies among 246 women from the Nurses' Health Study and 259 men from the Health Professionals Follow-up Study who developed incident CHD, matched to controls 1:2 on age and smoking. Both the TaqIB variant and alcohol consumption were associated with higher HDL-cholesterol, with alcohol's effect most pronounced in B2 carriers. Among women, no inverse alcohol-CHD association was found in B2 non-carriers (P trend 0.5), but a significant one was found in B2 carriers (P trend less than 0.01): the odds ratio for CHD with 5-14 g/day alcohol intake was 1.4 (95% CI 0.6-3.7) in non-carriers versus 0.4 (95% CI 0.2-0.8) in B2 carriers. Results in men suggested a weaker interaction (OR 1.9 [0.8-4.5] in non-carriers versus 0.9 [0.5-1.6] in carriers).
Original abstract
Aims: To investigate whether a common polymorphism in the cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP) gene modifies the relationship of alcohol intake with high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and risk of coronary heart disease (CHD).
Methods And Results: Parallel nested case-control studies among women [Nurses' Health Study (NHS)] and men [Health Professionals Follow-up Study (HPFS)] where 246 women and 259 men who developed incident CHD were matched to controls (1:2) on age and smoking. The TaqIB variant and alcohol consumption were associated with higher HDL-C, with the most pronounced effects of alcohol among B2 carriers. In the NHS we did not find an inverse association between alcohol and CHD in B2 non-carriers (P trend: 0.5), but did among B2 carriers (P trend <0.01). Among non-carriers the odds ratio (OR) for CHD among women with an intake of 5-14 g/day was 1.4 (95% CI: 0.6-3.7) compared with non-drinkers, whereas among B2 carriers the OR was 0.4 (0.2-0.8). Results in men were less suggestive of an interaction; corresponding OR's were 1.9 (0.8-4.5) and 0.9 (0.5-1.6), for B2 non-carriers and carriers, respectively.
Conclusions: The association of alcohol with HDL-C levels was modified by CETP TaqIB2 carrier status, and there was also a suggestion of a gene-environment interaction on the risk of CHD.
Summary written by cetpinhibition.org from the published abstract; figures as published. Page updated 19 August 2026. Methods.