World War II-veteran male twins who are discordant for alcohol consumption: 24-year mortality.
The role of genetic and shared environmental influences in the association of alcohol with mortality was studied by using the National Academy of Sciences-National Research Council World War II-veteran male twin registry. An epidemiologic questionnaire administered from 1967 through 1969 permitted identification of twin pairs discordant for alcohol consumption. The subsequent 24 years of mortality follow-up yielded data on time and cause of death. Analyzing the first or only death in drinking-discordant pairs, we observed 27 deaths in abstainer twins and 14 deaths in their light- to moderate-drinker cotwins (relative risk [RR] = 1.93). Excess mortality in twin abstainers was also indicated for deaths from cardiovascular diseases (RR = 2.0) and other causes of death excluding cancers (RR = 3.2). The protective effect, however, of light to moderate drinking did not persist in twins who were smokers at baseline.
Carmelli
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D
Health Sciences Program, SRI International, Menlo Park, Calif 94025.
Swan
G E
GE
Page
W F
WF
Christian
J C
JC
D000428:Alcohol Drinking; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000235:genetics / Q000401:mortality / Q000517:prevention & control; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004200:Diseases in Twins; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009026:Mortality; D012907:Smoking; D014427:Twins