Abstract
Low HDL cholesterol (HDL-C) is a risk factor for atherosclerotic diseases, and appropriate HDL-C control has been a requirement of health guidance, especially for males. HDL-C has a negative correlation with smoking and BMI and a positive correlation with drinking and exercise habits. HDL-C varies depending on these health behaviors, but the mutual relationships between HDL-C and various health behaviors remain unclear. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of alcohol quantity, number of cigarettes and exercise habits on HDL-C cholesterol in male drinkers. The subjects were 4,668 male drinkers who had undergone health checkups and who drank every day. The subjects were divided into a smoking group (2,648 men) and a non-smoking group (2,020 men).
The non-smoking group had higher HDL-C and BMI as well as more frequent exercise habits and a lower alcohol quantity than the smoking group. Multiple linear regression analysis was performed for both groups separately. The dependent variable was HDL and independent variables were age, BMI, alcohol quantity, exercise habits and number of cigarettes (only in the smoking group). In the smoking group, HDL-C had a positive correlation with alcohol quantity (β = 0.175, p < 0.001) and exercise (β = 0.041, p = 0.023) and a negative correlation with BMI (β = -0.348, p < 0.001) and number of cigarettes (β = -0.079, p < 0.001). In the non-smoking group, HDL-C had a positive correlation with alcohol quantity (β = 0.212, p < 0.001) and exercise (β = 0.073, p = 0.023) and a negative correlation with BMI (β = -0.375, p < 0.001). In both groups, HDL-C had no correlation with age (p = 0.560).
In conclusion, the negative effect of BMI on HDL-C was strongest, although drinking and exercise had a positive effect on HDL-C in both the smoking group and non-smoking group. Smokers are considered to be strongly affected by an increase in HDL-C due to drinking and exercise on quitting smoking. In the smoking group, the number of cigarettes had a negative correlation with HDL-C.
