Aim The relationship between alcohol consumption and carotid atherosclerosis had been reported in some epidemiologic studies. But the results were conflicting in different researches. In the present study, we investigated the association between alcohol intake and carotid atherosclerosis in Chinese Han, Uighur, and Hazakh population.

Methods and Results The study population sample comprised 13 037 Chinese people (5277 Han, 4572 Uighur, and 3188 Hazakh) aged 35 years and over, who participated a Cardiovascular Risk Survey between June 2007 and September 2009. Daily alcohol consumption was determined by the number and frequency of alcoholic beverages consumed. The carotid artery parameters including common carotid artery intima-media thickness (CCA-IMT) and carotid plaques were measured using high-resolution B-mode ultrasonography. In Han or Hazakh, carotid IMT as a function of alcohol consumption was depicted as a J-shaped curve with a nadir for the alcohol intake category of 20 to 29.9 g/d; In Uighur, the similar curve with a nadir of 30 to 49.9 g/d was observed. For the prevalence of carotid plaques, we also observed the similar curves in Han and Hazakh but not in Uighur. After adjusted for the age, sex, blood pressure, body mass index, smoking, GLU, total cholesterol, HDL, and LDL, the J-shaped curves remain existence.

Conclusions Our results indicated that moderate drinking is a protective factor for carotid atherosclerosis. But the definition of moderate drinking should be difference in Han, Uighur and Hazakh population.