To investigate the association between the intake of selected food groups and beverages and serum uric acid (UA).

Cross-sectional study using the baseline data (2008–2010) from the Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Adult Health (ELSA-Brasil). Food intake was assessed by food frequency questionnaire with 114 items. Linear and logistic regressions investigated the associations between the daily intake of each food group (servings/d) and UA (mg/dl) and hyperuricemia (UA ≥ 6·8 mg/dl), respectively. All the analyses were adjusted for potential confounders, energy intake and all food groups.

Teaching and research institutions from six Brazilians states.

The participants were 14 320 active and retired civil servants, aged 35–74 years.

Higher intake of dairy products was associated with lower serum UA levels in both sexes, with a statistical dose-response gradient. High meat intake was associated with high UA only in women, and high intake of organ meats, in men. Intake of fish and fruits, vegetables and legumes were not associated with serum UA. In men, moderate and high intake of alcoholic beverages, specifically beer and spirits, but not wine, increased UA. In women, only high intake of alcoholic beverages, specifically beer, was associated with increased serum UA. Similar associations were seen for hyperuricemia.

Results suggest a potential beneficial role of dairy products consumption on UA levels. The association between alcohol intake and UA differed according to type of beverage and between sexes. Results reinforce the need to consider the whole diet in the analysis and to conduct sex stratified analysis.

To assess alcoholic beverage intake among Australian adults and its contribution to dietary energy intake.

Secondary analysis of a national dietary survey using 24 h dietary recall.

Australian National Nutrition and Physical Activity Survey (NNPAS) conducted from May 2011 to June 2012.

Adults (n 9341) aged 19 years and over.

On the day preceding the survey, 32·8% of Australian adults consumed one or more alcoholic drinks. The median contribution to total energy intake for consumers did not differ significantly between males and females (13·7% and 12·9%, respectively; P=0·10). The prevalence of consumption of alcoholic drinks on Friday, Saturday and Sunday was 38·8 (95% CI 37·1, 40·5)%, higher than the other days (28·6 (95% CI 27·5, 29·8)%). Consumers had a median daily intake of 4·0 standard drinks on the weekend compared with 3·0 standard drinks during the week (P<0·001). Beer was the most commonly consumed alcoholic beverage for men and white wine for women. The highest prevalence of alcoholic beverage intake occurred in the highest quintile of adjusted household income (42·7 (95% CI 40·4, 45·0)%) and the ‘overweight’ BMI category (40·3 (95% CI 38·5, 42·0)%). Alcoholic beverage intake among consumers was significantly different by household income quintile (median 3·84 (highest) v. 3·05 standard drinks (lowest); P<0·05) and by waist circumference category (median 4·09 standard drinks (highest)).

Alcoholic drinks contribute substantially to the dietary energy intake of Australian adults. The type and pattern of consumption of alcoholic beverage intake should be considered in the development of strategies to improve dietary intake.

The influence of moderate alcohol consumption on renal function is not clear in elderly people. The aim of the present study was to investigate the relationship between alcohol consumption and renal function, expressed as serum creatinine levels and glomerular filtration rates (GFR), in an elderly population.

Perspective cohort study.

Population-based study on an elderly Italian population.

A sample of 3404 Italian people (1619 women and 1785 men), aged 65–84 years, from the Italian Longitudinal Study on Aging (ILSA).

Prevalence and cumulative risk of impaired renal function (defined as GFR ≤ 60 ml/min) were estimated by sex and alcohol consumption groups. Logistic regression analysis adjusting for confounders (age, education, smoking, BMI and medications) and intermediate factors (blood cholesterol and fibrinogen, systolic hypertension and diabetes) showed that alcohol consumption level was not significantly related to the prevalence of mild renal impairment in elderly women. In men, both prevalence and incidence results seemed to suggest an inverse linear relationship between moderate alcohol consumption and the risk of mild renal impairment. A U-shaped association was shown for women at the incidence phase, suggesting a higher risk of developing renal impairment for women who drink more than 24 g alcohol/d.

Our results suggest that, in accordance with the recommendations on alcohol consumption in the elderly, moderate quantities of alcohol are not injurious to renal function in elderly men.

To describe the trends of self-reported past consumption of alcoholic beverages and ethanol intake from 1950 to 1995 within the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC).

Data on consumption of beer/cider, wine and liqueur/spirits were obtained retrospectively at age 20, 30 and 40 years to calculate average consumption and ethanol intake for the time periods 1950–1975 (at age 20), 1960–1985 (at age 30) and 1970–1995 (at age 40). Regression analysis was conducted with the time period data to assess trends in past alcoholic beverage consumption and ethanol intake with time.

The EPIC project.

In total, 392 064 EPIC participants (275 249 women and 116 815 men) from 21 study centres in eight European countries.

Generally, increases in beer/cider consumption were observed for most EPIC centres for 1950–1975, 1960–1985 and 1970–1995. Trends in wine consumption differed according to geographical location: downward trends with time were observed for men in southern European EPIC centres, upward trends for those in middle/northern European study centres. For women, similar but less pronounced trends were observed. Because wine consumption was the major contributor to ethanol intake for both men and women in most study centres, time trends for ethanol intake showed a similar geographical pattern to that of wine consumption.

The different trends in alcoholic beverage consumption and ethanol intake suggest that information depicting lifetime history of ethanol intake should be included in analyses of the relationship between ethanol and chronic diseases, particularly in multi-centre studies such as EPIC.