With the following notable exceptions, further adjustment for additional covariates did not substantially change HRs (table 2, appendix pp 15, 30). First, adjustment for HDL-C level weakened the inverse association between alcohol consumption and myocardial infarction, but strengthened the positive association between alcohol consumption and both coronary disease and heart failure. Second, adjustment for systolic blood pressure strengthened the inverse association between alcohol consumption and myocardial infarction, but weakened the positive associations between alcohol consumption and all other cardiovascular disease outcomes. Our analysis confirmed the established association of alcohol consumption with cancers of the digestive system, which did not change after additional adjustment for the factors listed above (appendix p 16). Furthermore, additional adjustment for smoking amount abolished the apparent association of alcohol consumption with lung cancer (appendix pp 16), in line with the accepted view that alcohol consumption does not cause lung cancer.40Table 2Hazard ratios for major cardiovascular outcomes in current drinkers, without and with adjustment for usual levels of systolic blood pressure, high-density-lipoprotein cholesterol, or body-mass indexAll strokeMyocardial infarctionCoronary disease excluding myocardial infarctionHeart failureDeaths from other types of
