Alcohol Consumption and Mortality Risks in the U.S.: Less Protective Benefit than Previously Thought?

Brian Rostron, U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
Savet Hong, University of California, Berkeley

This study presents relative mortality risks by alcohol consumption level for the U.S. population, using data from National Health Interview Survey participants from 1997-2004 who were followed for mortality through 2006. It presents adjusted hazard ratios for all-cause mortality and for mortality from circulatory and external causes. We find that mortality from all causes and external causes for lifetime infrequent drinkers was much lower than the comparable mortality for never drinkers among women, suggesting that some portion of observed lower mortality for female drinkers is due to factors other than alcohol consumption. We also generally find some reduction in estimated all-cause mortality for moderate drinkers compared to infrequent drinkers. We also find increased cerebrovascular disease mortality for heavy drinkers compared to infrequent drinkers among women.