Purpose: To examine whether smoking, alcohol drinking and other risk factors were associated with non-fatal coronary heart disease (CHD) in Hong Kong Chinese.
Methods: A case control study was carried out with 598 CHD hospital cases (431 men, 167 women) and 1100 community controls (663 men, 437 women). Standardized questionnaires were used and blood lipids were measured using standard methods.
Results: Stepwise logistic regression models showed adjusted odds ratios (AOR) of 3.36 [95% confidence interval (CI): 2.35 to 4.81] for smoking and 0.32 (95% CI: 0.22 to 0.45) for alcohol drinking in men, and 6.50 (95% CI: 2.61 to 16.19) and 0.15 (95% CI: 0.08 to 0.30), respectively, in women. The OR increased with decreasing levels of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL) and increasing levels of triglycerides. No patterns were observed for body mass index (BMI), total and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL). The protective effect of drinking was observed for different types of drinks and frequency of drinking, although few drank alcohol more than 3 days per week.
Conclusions: Smoking was a strong risk factor and moderate alcohol drinking was a protective factor for CHD, and low HDL and high triglyceride levels were important risk factors in Hong Kong Chinese.