Alcohol consumption and all-cause and cause-specific mortality among US adults: prospective cohort study

Abstract

Background Previous studies have shown inconsistent findings regarding the association of light to moderate alcohol consumption with cause-specific mortality. Therefore, this study sought to examine the prospective association of alcohol consumption with all-cause and cause-specific mortality in the US population. Methods This was a population-based cohort study of adults aged 18 years or older in the National Health Interview Survey (1997 to 2014) with linkage to the National Death Index records through December 31, 2019. Self-reported alcohol consumption was categorized into seven groups (lifetime abstainers; former infrequent or regular drinkers; and current infrequent, light, moderate, or heavy drinkers). The main outcome was all-cause and cause-specific mortality. Results During an average follow-up of 12.65 years, among the 918,529 participants (mean age 46.1 years; 48.0% male), 141,512 adults died from all causes, 43,979 from cardiovascular disease (CVD), 33,222 from cancer, 8246 from chronic lower respiratory tract diseases, 5572 from accidents (unintentional injuries), 4776 from Alzheimer’s disease, 4845 from diabetes mellitus, 2815 from influenza and pneumonia, and 2692 from nephritis, nephrotic syndrome, or nephrosis. Compared with lifetime abstainers, current infrequent, light, or moderate drinkers were at a lower risk of mortality from all causes [infrequent—hazard ratio: 0.87; 95% confidence interval: 0.84 to 0.90; light: 0.77; 0.75 to 0.79; moderate 0.82; 0.80 to 0.85], CVD, chronic lower respiratory tract diseases, Alzheimer’s disease, and influenza and pneumonia. Also, light or moderate drinkers were associated with lower risk of mortality from diabetes mellitus and nephritis, nephrotic syndrome, or nephrosis. In contrast, heavy drinkers had a significantly higher risk of mortality from all causes, cancer, and accidents (unintentional injuries). Furthermore, binge drinking ≥ 1 day/week was associated with a higher risk of mortality from all causes (1.15; 1.09 to 1.22), cancer (1.22; 1.10 to 1.35), and accidents (unintentional injuries) (1.39; 1.11 to 1.74). Conclusions Infrequent, light, and moderate alcohol consumption were inversely associated with mortality from all causes, CVD, chronic lower respiratory tract diseases, Alzheimer’s disease, and influenza and pneumonia. Light or moderate alcohol consumption might also have a beneficial effect on mortality from diabetes mellitus and nephritis, nephrotic syndrome, or nephrosis. However, heavy or binge had a higher risk of all-cause, cancer, and accidents (unintentional injuries) mortality.

Predicting 1-, 3-, 5-, and 8-year all-cause mortality in a community-dwelling older adult cohort: relevance for predictive, preventive, and personalized medicine

“…Continued heavy alcohol use can cause substantial morbidity and mortality from all causes, cancer, and accidents [ 36 ]. Light and moderate alcohol consumption have been inversely associated with mortality from all causes, cardiovascular disease, chronic lower respiratory tract diseases, Alzheimer’s disease, and influenza and pneumonia [ 37 ]. Clarifying the relationship between alcohol status and higher daily liquor consumption and all-cause mortality can help healthcare professionals better advise their patients.…”

Alcohol, health loss and mortality: can wine really save the good name of moderate alcohol consumption?

“…35 It is also worth emphasizing that there is a reason why the recommendations indicate that the consumed doses of alcohol should not be accumulated. In a prospective study by Tian et al, 36 including 918 529 participants followed for 12.65 years, it was found that binge drinking for 1 or more days a week was associated with a higher risk of mortality from all causes (HR, 1.15; 95% CI, 1.09-1.22), cancer (HR, 1.22; 95% CI, 1.1-1.35), and accidents (unintentional injuries) (HR, 1.39; 95% CI, 1.11-1. 74).…”

“…Current epidemiologic data on alcohol consumption Global epidemiology In 2016, approximately 32.5% (with a 95% uncertainty interval [UI], 30-35.2) of the world's population were reported as current drinkers. Specifically, 25% of women (95% UI, [23][24][25][26][27] and 39% of men (95% UI, [36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43] were identified as such. These percentages equal to a total of 2.4 billion people (95% UI, 2.2-2.6) who were current drinkers, comprising 1.5 billion current drinkers among men (95% UI, 1.4-1.6) and 0.9 billion among women (95% UI, 0.8-1).…”

Advancing lifelong precision medicine for cardiovascular diseases through gut microbiota modulation

“…A J-shaped relationship has been observed between alcohol intake and the risk of CVD, whereby lower and moderate alcohol intake is associated with a decreased risk of CVD incidence and mortality. 118 However, heavy drinking significantly increases the incidence and mortality of CVD. 119 Recent investigations have unveiled distinctive characteristics in the gut microbiota of individuals with long-term alcohol consumption.…”