Alcohol consumption and disability pension among middle-aged men.
OBJECTIVE
To analyze the relation between alcohol consumption and the risk of disability pension among middle-aged men.


METHODS
In the mid-seventies, complete birth-year cohorts of middle-aged male residents in Malmö, Sweden, were invited to participate in a general health survey. The 3751 men with complete data who constituted the cohort in this study were followed for 11 years. Alcohol consumption was estimated from the scores obtained from a test designed to identify subjects with alcohol related problems.


RESULTS
Of the 498 men granted disability pension during follow-up, 48 stated to be teetotalers. The cumulative incidence of disability pension among teetotalers was 19%, whereas, it was 12% and 16%, respectively, among men with low and high alcohol consumption. The adjusted relative risk (RR) for acquiring a disability pension (using the group with low alcohol consumption as reference) was 1.8 among abstainers and 1.3 among men with high alcohol consumption.


CONCLUSIONS
Alcohol overconsumption, as well as teetotalism, showed a positive relation to disability pension, and a moderate alcohol intake was found to be beneficial with respect to the risk of future disability pension.
Månsson
N O
NO
Department of Community Medicine, Lund University, Malmö University Hospital, Sweden.
Råstam
L
L
Eriksson
K F
KF
Israelsson
B
B
D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000191:economics; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000191:economics; D006233:Persons with Disabilities; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010415:Pensions; D013548:Sweden