Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2012 Nov 16:12:987.
doi: 10.1186/1471-2458-12-987.

Frequent alcohol drinking is associated with lower prevalence of self-reported common cold: a retrospective study

Eriko Ouchi  1 , Kaijun Niu, Yoritoshi Kobayashi, Lei Guan, Haruki Momma, Hui Guo, Masahiko Chujo, Atsushi Otomo, Yufei Cui, Ryoichi Nagatomi
Affiliations

Frequent alcohol drinking is associated with lower prevalence of self-reported common cold: a retrospective study

Eriko Ouchi et al. BMC Public Health. .

Abstract

Background: Alcohol intake has been associated with reduced incidence of common cold symptoms in 2 European studies. However, no study has addressed the association between the frequency of alcohol intake and the incidence of common cold. This study aimed to investigate the association between the amount and frequency of alcohol drinking and the retrospective prevalence of common cold in Japanese men.

Methods: This retrospective study included men who participated in an annual health examination conducted in Sendai, Japan. The frequency of common cold episodes in the previous year was self-reported. The weekly frequency and amount of alcohol consumed, as well as the type of alcoholic drink, were reported by a brief-type self-administered diet history questionnaire. Logistic regression models were used to analyze the association between the amount and frequency of alcohol intake and the retrospective prevalence of common cold.

Results: Among 899 men, 83.4% of the subjects reported drinking alcohol, and 55.4% of the subjects reported having experienced at least one episode of common cold in the previous year. Compared with non-drinkers, the adjusted odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for having had 1 or more episodes of common cold during the past year across categories of alcohol intake frequency of 3 or less, 4-6, and 7 days/week were 0.827 (0.541-1.266), 0.703 (0.439-1.124), and 0.621 (0.400-0.965), respectively (P for trend = 0.025); the adjusted ORs with 95% CIs for having had of 2 or more episodes of common cold across the same categories were 0.642 (0.395-1.045), 0.557 (0.319-0.973), and 0.461 (0.270-0.787), respectively (P for trend = 0.006). Compared with subjects who consumed 11.5-35.8 g of alcohol per day, the non-drinkers were significantly more likely to experience 2 or more episodes of common cold (OR, 1.843; 95% CI, 1.115-3.047).

Conclusion: The frequency, not the amount, of alcohol intake was significantly related to lower prevalence of self-reported common cold episodes in Japanese men.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Fendrick AM, Monto AS, Nightengale B, Sarnes M. The economic burden of non-influenza-related viral respiratory tract infection in the United States. Arch Intern Med. 2003;163(4):487–494. doi: 10.1001/archinte.163.4.487. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Walter MJ, Castro M, Kunselman SJ, Chinchilli VM, Reno M, Ramkumar TP, Avila PC, Boushey HA, Ameredes BT, Bleecker ER. et al. Predicting worsening asthma control following the common cold. Eur Respir J. 2008;32(6):1548–1554. doi: 10.1183/09031936.00026808. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Papi A, Bellettato CM, Braccioni F, Romagnoli M, Casolari P, Caramori G, Fabbri LM, Johnston SL. Infections and airway inflammation in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease severe exacerbations. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2006;173(10):1114–1121. doi: 10.1164/rccm.200506-859OC. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Feeney A, North F, Head J, Canner R, Marmot M. Socioeconomic and sex differentials in reason for sickness absence from the Whitehall II Study. Occup Environ Med. 1998;55(2):91–98. doi: 10.1136/oem.55.2.91. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Bramley TJ, Lerner D, Sames M. Productivity losses related to the common cold. J Occup Environ Med. 2002;44(9):822–829. doi: 10.1097/00043764-200209000-00004. - DOI - PubMed

Publication types

MeSH terms