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Conclusion: We hypothesized that HRV is associated with behavioural factors and therefore might be a mediator of the effect of behavioural CVD risk factors on CVD events, but this hypothesis was not confirmed by our results. These findings support the interpretation that there may be no true causal association of behavioural factors with HRV, which is also compatible with the inconsistent literature. However, a final conclusion as to whether HRV is an intermediate on the causal path or a marker of subclinical or impending disease cannot be drawn on the basis of cross-sectional analyses. Fortunately, the ongoing follow-up investigation of the study subjects will give us the opportunity to examine the prospective associations of behavioural risk factors with HRV and incident events, and to assess correct temporal relations. (Source: biomedcentral.com, 11/25/10) Comment: Could this study open a new generation of alcohol / heart research?