title: Moderate Alcohol Consumption Is Not Associated with Reduced All-cause Mortality.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  A large body of research suggests that light or moderate alcohol consumption is associated with reduced all-cause mortality. However, concerns remain that the observed relationship is due to selection bias, misclassification of ex-drinkers, or residual confounding.
  
  
  METHODS
  The association between alcohol consumption and all-cause mortality was analyzed using Cox regression. The analysis was performed using data from the Health and Retirement Study, a longitudinal cohort of 24,029 individuals from a nationally representative sample of US adults aged more than 50 years. Drinking level was based on alcohol consumption measured at 3 points over the 4 years before the start of follow-up. Occasional drinkers-those who reported drinking on at least 1 occasion, but always less than once per week-served as the reference category. There was extensive adjustment for sociodemographic variables, health status, and functional status.
  
  
  RESULTS
  During 206,966 person-years of follow up, 7902 individuals died. No level of regular alcohol consumption was associated with reduced all-cause mortality. The hazard ratio and 95% confidence interval in fully adjusted analyses was 1.02 (0.94-1.11) for <7 drinks/week, 1.14 (1.02-1.28) for 7 to <14 drinks/week, 1.13 (0.96-1.35) for 14 to <21 drinks/week, and 1.45 (1.16-1.81) for ≥ 21 drinks/week.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Moderate alcohol consumption is not associated with reduced all-cause mortality in older adults. The previously observed association may have been due to residual confounding.
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics, and Occupational Health, McGill University, Montreal, Canada; Royal Liverpool University Hospital, Liverpool, United Kingdom. Electronic address: robertgoulden@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Goulden
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000453:epidemiology*; D002423:Cause of Death; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D012307:Risk Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors
keywords: Alcohol; Cohort study; Health and Retirement Study; Mortality