Hazardous alcohol consumption and diseases of the circulatory system.

Abstract

Received for publication: 16 February 1979. Revision: 15 April 1980. 2 The adjectives hazardous and heavy are used interchangeably to describe alcohol consumption i this discussion. At the Addiction Research Foundation hazardous drinking is defined as an average dafiy intake equal to or exceeding 80 g of ethanol, i.e., an amount equivalent to approximately 9 fluid oz of spirits with a 40• ethanol content, 30 oz of wine (12%) or 72 oz of beer (5•). While it is not possible to quantify precisely these or similar adjectives as used in other settings, in this discussion the use of hazardous or heavy is intended to imply the repeated consumption of alcohol in amounts associated with increased risk of physical disease. 3 Circulatory is used as a specific term referring to the grouping of diseases found in the International Classification o[ Diseases (IC•)A), 8th Revision, Section VII (Diseases of the Circulatory System) (183). Included in this grouping are ischemic heart disease (410-414) and cerebrovascular disease (430-438). In the 6th (197) and 7th (198) Revisions the rubrics 420 and 422 comprised the entity arteriosclerotic and degenerative heart disease, also called coronary heart disease and coronary artery disease. These rubrics correspond approximately to the rubrics 410-413 in the 8th Revision. In the 6th and 7th Revisions the rubrics (330-334) for cerebrovascular disease were titled vascular lesions affecting the central nervous system. Cardiovascular disease is used as a specific term referring to diseases of the heart and blood vessels. The latter rubrics comprise the disease ntity called coronary heart disease. In the tables, the ICnA rubric is given, wherever possible. Otherwise, the disease entity is specified to the fullest extent possible from the information available.