Letters

Mortality and alcohol consumption

EDITOR,--The interpretation of the finding that light or moderate drinkers have a lower mortality than non-drinkers remains controversial.¹ The original cohort of 34000 male doctors was recruited in 1951, and information on alcohol consumption was obtained from the surviving third of the men some 27 years later (1978) and from the surviving quarter 40 years later (1991). The authors make no comment on the possible implications of these large gaps in time or on the issue of survivorship.

The British regional heart study has shown that middle aged male non-drinkers are likely to be exdrinkers, are older, and have higher rates of a wide range of diseases and of drug treatment than light or moderate drinkers.² Non-drinkers should not be used as a baseline against which to measure the effects of alcohol consumption. The proportion of British doctors who are ex-drinkers cannot be assessed . . . [Full text of this article]

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Relevant Article

Prospective study of alcohol drinking patterns and coronary heart disease in women and men

Janne Tolstrup, Majken K Jensen, Anne Tjønneland, Kim Overvad, Kenneth J Mukamal, and Morten Grønbæk
BMJ 2006 332: 1244-1248. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

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