title: Patterns of alcohol drinking and all-cause mortality: results from a large-scale population-based cohort study in Japan.
abstract: To evaluate the hypothesis that, in terms of all-cause death, drinking alcohol 1-4 days per week is less harmful than daily (5-7 days/week) drinking of the same quantity of alcohol, a prospective cohort study using a self-administered questionnaire was conducted in Japan between 1990 and 2003 of 88,746 subjects (41,702 men and 47,044 women) aged 40-69 years at baseline. Among male regular drinkers consuming alcohol more than 1 day per week, light drinkers (<300 g/week) showed no increase in all-cause mortality irrespective of frequency of alcohol intake. Heavy drinkers (> or = 300 g/week), however, showed an increased risk of all-cause mortality among those who consumed alcohol 5-7 days per week, while no obvious increase was observed among those who consumed alcohol less than 4 days per week. Hazard ratios for drinkers who consumed alcohol 5-7 days per week were 1.29 (95% confidence interval: 1.12, 1.50) for 300-449 g per week and 1.55 (95% confidence interval: 1.32, 1.81) for > or = 450 g per week when compared with those for occasional drinkers who consumed alcohol 1-3 days per month. These findings support the Japanese social belief that "liver holidays," abstaining from alcohol for more than 2 days per week, are important for heavy drinkers.
authors.affiliation: Cancer Information Services and Surveillance Division, Center for Cancer Control and Information Services, National Cancer Center, Tokyo, Japan. tmarugam@gan2.res.ncc.go.jp
authors.forename: Tomomi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Marugame
authors.forename: Seiichiro
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yamamoto
authors.forename: Itsuro
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Yoshimi
authors.forename: Tomotaka
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Sobue
authors.forename: Manami
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Inoue
authors.forename: Shoichiro
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tsugane
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000453:epidemiology*; D002423:Cause of Death; D000431:Ethanol; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan / Q000453:epidemiology; D008019:Life Style; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009026:Mortality / Q000639:trends*; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D011446:Prospective Studies; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012307:Risk Factors; D012309:Risk-Taking; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D000431:Ethanol