However, this should not have affected the associations between alcohol and HF risk; our previous reports on HF predictors, such as obesity and NT-proBNP, in this cohort have generally accorded with prior data and therefore, suggest external validity for our findings.22, 23 Echocardiographic measurements were not carried out in the present study and we were not able to differentiate HF with reduced ejection fraction and HF with preserved ejection fraction. This evidence concerns the gene NPPB and hydrops fetalis.