Alcohol intake, consumption pattern and beverage type, and the risk of Type 2 diabetes

<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title><jats:p><jats:bold>Aims </jats:bold> To examine associations between amount and frequency of alcohol consumption, and Type 2 diabetes.</jats:p><jats:p><jats:bold>Methods </jats:bold> A prospective study of 36 527 adults aged 40–69 at baseline. Incident cases of Type 2 diabetes were identified by questionnaire 4 years later. Sex‐specific logistic regression models, adjusting for country of birth, dietary glycaemic index, energy intake and age, and in a second model body mass index (BMI) and waist–hip ratio (WHR), were used.</jats:p><jats:p><jats:bold>Results </jats:bold> Diabetes status was ascertained for 31 422 (86%) participants, and 362 cases identified. Former drinkers had higher risks than lifetime abstainers. Female drinkers had lower risk than lifetime abstainers (ORs < 10 g/day 0.54, 95% CI 0.36–0.82; 10–19.9 g/day 0.57, 0.34–0.94; ≥ 20 g/day 0.46, 0.24–0.88, <jats:italic>P</jats:italic> trend = 0.005). There was no relationship after adjustment for body size. For men, a weak inverse association was observed after adjustment for body size (ORs relative to lifetime abstainers: < 10 g/day 1.56, 0.95–2.55; 10–19.9 g/day 1.21, 0.69–2.10; 20–29.9 g/day 0.80, 0.40–1.60; = 30 g/day 0.86, 0.50–1.58, <jats:italic>P</jats:italic> trend = 0.036). Wine was the only beverage for which an inverse association was observed. Compared with men who did not drink in the week before baseline, men who drank ≥ 210 g over 1–3 days had an increased risk of diabetes (OR 5.21, 1.79–15.19), while the same amount over more days did not increase risk.</jats:p><jats:p><jats:bold>Conclusions </jats:bold> Total alcohol intake was associated with reduced risk only in women. Alcohol from wine was associated with reduced risk of Type 2 diabetes. A high daily intake of alcohol, even on only 1–3 days a week, may increase the risk of diabetes in men.</jats:p>