Alcohol intake and cardiovascular morbidity and mortality.

Recent studies reinforce the consistent finding of a J-shaped inverse association between alcohol and cardiovascular disease morbidity and mortality, primarily as a result of the underlying association between alcohol and coronary heart disease. The most plausible mechanism behind this effect is through increases in high-density lipoprotein cholesterol. All types of alcoholic beverage reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, suggesting that ethanol is responsible for the protective effect.