Tu SJ, Gallagher C, Elliott AD, et al. - In this predominantly white cohort, total alcohol intake was not associated with ventricular arrhythmia (VA) but was found to have a U-shaped association with sudden cardiac death (SCD).

• Utilizing data from the UK Biobank, a total of 408,712 middle-aged individuals (52.1% female) were studied over a median follow-up time of 11.5 years to examine associations of total and beverage-specific alcohol intake with incident VA and SCD.

• No clear association was seen between total alcohol consumption and incident VA.

• Intake of greater amounts of spirits was found to be linked with elevated VA risk, but no other significant beverage-specific links were identified.

• A U-shaped association was found between total alcohol intake and SCD, such that consumption of <26 drinks per week was related to lowest risk.

• Intake of greater amounts of beer, cider, and spirits was found to be potentially linked with increasing SCD risk, whereas decreased risk was seen in relation to increasing red and white wine consumption.