Low risk alcohol consumption increased risk of all-cause mortality: JAMA

A new study published in the Journal American Medical Association showed that higher mortality was linked to even low-risk drinking among older persons who had socioeconomic or health-related risk factors. Drinking alcohol is a major source of illness and mortality, and its effects may be more pronounced in older persons who have socioeconomic or medical risk factors. Thus, this study by Rosario Ortolá and team investigate the relationship between alcohol consumption habits and 12-year mortality as well as how risk variables linked to health or socioeconomic status affect this relationship.

Data from the population-based cohort UK Biobank were utilized in this prospective cohort research. The participants had to be at least 60 years old to be current drinkers and their data were examined between September 2023 and May 2024. The drinking patterns of these participants were categorized as occasional (≤2.86 g/d), low risk (men: >2.86-20.00 g/d; women: >2.86-10.00 g/d), moderate risk (men: >20.00-40.00 g/d; women: >10.00-20.00 g/d), and high risk (men: >40.00 g/d; women: >20.00 g/d) based on their mean daily alcohol intake in grams.

Health-related risk variables were examined using the frailty index, while socioeconomic risk factors were analyzed using the Townsend deprivation index. The national registries' death certificates provided all-cause and cause-specific mortality data. The analyses removed fatalities within the first two years of follow-up and accounted for possible confounders such as drinking habits and preferences.

There were 135,103 participants in total. High-risk drinking was linked to increased all-cause, cancer, and cardiovascular mortality in the entire analytical sample when compared to occasional drinking. Also, moderate-risk drinking was linked to elevated all-cause and cancer mortality and low-risk drinking was linked to higher cancer mortality. Low-risk drinking was linked to higher cancer mortality, and moderate-risk drinking was linked to higher all-cause and cancer mortality among the individuals with health-related risk factors. Low-risk and moderate-risk drinking patterns were linked to higher mortality from all causes and cancer among the individuals with socioeconomic risk factors.

However, no associations were found between low- or moderate-risk drinking patterns and occasional drinking among people without socioeconomic or health-related risk factors. If a drinker has socioeconomic or health-related risk factors, wine preference and drinking with meals have small protective associations with mortality, particularly from cancer. They also attenuate the excess mortality associated with high-, moderate-, and even low-risk drinking. Overall, this cohort study found disparities in the negative health outcomes linked with alcohol that must be addressed in order to lower the elevated disease burden of drinking alcohol.

Source:

Ortolá, R., Sotos-Prieto, M., García-Esquinas, E., Galán, I., & Rodríguez-Artalejo, F. (2024). Alcohol Consumption Patterns and Mortality Among Older Adults With Health-Related or Socioeconomic Risk Factors. In JAMA Network Open (Vol. 7, Issue 8, p. e2424495). American Medical Association (AMA). https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.24495