A recent study released some surprising results about alcohol and longevity. Check them out after the cut!
While heavily boozing it up every night probably isn't encouraged, scientists have discovered that those who abstain from drinking live shorter lives than people who don't.
The tightly controlled study, which looked at individuals between ages 55 and 65, spanned a 20-year period and accounted for variables ranging from socioeconomic status to level of physical activity...Of the 1,824 study participants, only 41 percent of the moderate drinkers died prematurely compared to a whopping 69 percent of the nondrinkers. Meanwhile, the heavy drinkers fared better than those who abstained, with a 60 percent mortality rate.
The drinkers in the study were people who had one to three alcoholic beverages a day, which seems pretty lenient.
It also included factors such as health problems and accidents caused by drinking, and still those who abstained had a higher mortality rate.So why do drinkers live longer? Perhaps because booze can lessen stress, which has negative effects on one's health. It may also be because, "alcohol can be a great social lubricant, and strong social networks are essential for maintaining mental and physical health." So go have a glass of wine (or three, I suppose) and feel okay about it! [via
MNN]
What do you think of the study? Does it surprise you?
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Comments (19)
well i could go for some grey goose right now.
I'd rather have a shorter, happier life that I can remember than be some old geezer with no fuckin memories because all of them were erased in the morning.
There are plenty of ways to release stress that don't include drinking. Go to a driving range. Learn how to shoot a gun. Paint a picture or listen to music really loud. Buy a trampoline or go to an indoor moon-bounce center. Fuck. The world is full of endless possibilities yet everyone on planet earth thinks being in a bar on a friday night is the hottest social event ever.
@starcrossedloversdivine@xanga - But the study isn't saying that drunks live longer; just people who drink. Having one drink won't make you forget your night.
Everyone dies
@akinnison - I'm biased anyway against group-design research, since I work in the single-subject field. So statistics don't mean much to me.
This following the study that told us a glass of red wine daily is not really good for us... Research is always flip-floping back and forth because we are always gaining new knowledge. Researchers use to think cigarettes were good for us. I would have to see the full study and conditions, as well as any extraneous variables before I fully believed this study.
Ok, I just read the article. It seems to be pointing more towards a correlation than a causation between length of life and drinking. Also they mentioned the whole red wine being good for you bit... hmmm. Not sold.
I hope you know that these results are all correlational, meaning that they only tell us that there's a relationship between abstinence from alcohol and early death, but they don't tell us what that relationship is. It's quite possible that those who are more neurotic or restrained in their behavior are more likely to not drink anything, whereas those who live life more fully and more stress-free are more likely to drink more. So....I don't think drinking a lot could actually lead to longer life....we need a study to test this empirically, but that's not ethical so we may never really know.
Just finished a couple of glasses of some delicious Spanish wine, so this article made me happy :)
The thing to take away from this is that drinking a little bit isn't going to hurt you. Alcohol really isn't the extreme evil people make it out to be. I don't drink (anymore) but I don't have a problem with those who do and exercise caution with it.
Correlation vs. Causation.
Get it right.
Correlation does not imply causation. :)
I dunno what "normal" drinking standards are, but I only drink alcohol occasionally and it is usually social. The last time I had a beer was on New Years. /shrug.
When I go out with friends, though, I gotta admit, I hit it pretty heavily. I mean, I eat, but my bar tab would be pretty high if I didn't have guys or my friends buying drinks for me to offset the cost a bit. Haha.
Sweet! I'm on drink number three right now! har.
Correlation does not equal causation.
@starcrossedloversdivine@xanga - I second this.
I don't drink much. I just don't enjoy it all that much- the taste, the getting overly warm, etc. Matter of fact, the only drink I consistently like is good tequila, which I'm not drinking every night. Red wine tastes terrible to me and gives me heartburn, so no thank you.
I can occassionally chill with a Dos Equis, but definitely not every day, or even every week.
Bottoms up! Seriously though, some people can relieve stress a lot more easily than others, and alcohol affects every single person differently. Some girls will be stumbling around slurring and making asses of themselves after 5 shots, whereas I can have an 8+ shot night and wake up remembering every single thing that happened, pop a couple of ibuprofen, and go have a productive day at work. It all depends. I drink almost every weekend, usually no more than once per week, and it's my time to unwind and relax. Alcohol helps me do that, which does not make me ashamed of myself or worried that I'll shorten my life. I figure I may as well live it up (within reason).
And I agree with everyone who says correlation does not equal causation...and I disagree with everyone who says that drinking, any drinking at all, is evil for everybody. Because it isn't.
I don't drink much, I am 25 and I've only been drunk twice, both times years ago. But I enjoy a glass of wine or two with a good meal, or have a shot with my bestie for her birthday.
There is a difference between being a drunk and drinking
I can't drink with any of the medications I'm on without concern of risks.There's studies showing that even one drink could be dangerous with what I take. I much rather not have severe anxiety or be depressed than drink while on my medications and risk losing my life that way.
@ohhmademoiselle@xanga - Same here and especially since I take medicines for my bipolar disorder. Alcohol is a big no-no.
alcohol doesn't really appeal to me, alcoholism runs in my family, and i could definitely see myself getting carried away, so in my specific case, i'd rather live a few less years but have the years i do live not involve bouncing in and out of rehab. i think everyone's situation is different, and people should just stop judging each other for whether or not they drink.