ABSTRACT
As early as the late 18th century, wine, spiritous liquors, and opium were described as the relievers for angina pectoris [1]. In the early decades of the 20th century, an inverse relation was first observed between heavy alcohol intake and atherosclerotic disease [2,3]. A series of studies among alcoholics and problem drinkers later suggested an excess risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) [4,5]. However, problem drinkers are different from other people in a number of ways, making it difficult to generalize this association to the population level. Clinical series and case-control studies collect data on alcohol intake after the outcome of interest has occurred. These studies often have limited data on other traits, which may be associated with developing the end points and also with alcohol intake. After the mid 20th century prospective cohort studies began to be established. Data on alcohol consumption were collected with varying detail at the baseline. This allowed study of the relationship between present alcohol intake and the future occurrence of cardiovascular disease, even though this was not the major aim of the original studies.
