Academic Research on Longevity and Its Link to Alcohol
Here we break down the research on how alcohol is related to your longevity. The verdict: Drinking a glass of wine has long been associated with living longer. And relative to teetotalers, that seems to be true.
Alcohol and longevity has long been a hot topic, both in the science world and on the news. There's been a lot of recent research on the claim that drinking certain kinds of alcohol can actually increase your lifespan. It's a complex relationship, but here's what we know so far.
A regular pattern of moderate drinking is key to reaping any of the benefits alcohol offers. A study conducted by JAMA Internal Medicine defines a regular pattern of moderate drinking as 1-2 drinks a day for women, and 2-4 per day for men, and suggests these “low levels of alcohol intake ... are inversely associated with total mortality.” Both the quantity and the stable routine of consumption is important. Research from two Canadian scientists for the Society for the Study of Addiction suggests that we should treat alcohol intake like a medicine regime, taking it regularly, in a modest dosage.
Drinking in excess not only nullifies the positive effects of alcohol, but it also increases the risk of a number of medical issues. According to research from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, women are especially vulnerable to the negative medical effects of excessive alcohol use. These risks include liver cirrhosis, cancer of the head, neck, digestive tract, and breasts, and hypertension, often leading to hemorrhagic stroke, caused by a rupture of blood vessels.
However, due to the natural anti-clotting effects of alcohol, drinking can actually decrease the risk of ischemic strokes, by far the most predominant type, which are caused by the blockage of blood vessels. Though alcohol does reduces the risk of ischemic strokes, the majority of its beneficial effects are related to cardiac diseases. A study published by the Journal of Vascular Health and Risk Management speaks to a correlation between moderate alcohol consumption and coronary heart disease, the leading cause of death in developed countries. While correlation does not prove causation, a number of epidemiological studies have found this same result. In addition to lowering the risk of heart disease, alcohol, red wine in particular, is very effective in keeping artery walls plaque-free and uninflamed. In a Spanish study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, both the alcohol content and the grapes in red wine were found to improve arterial health. The alcohol preventing inflammation of arterial walls, and the grapes helping to remove plaque. The anti-inflammatory effect extends to other types of alcohol as well, but the plaque-removal is unique to red wine.
Despite the scientific evidence, many physicians are hesitant to urge patients to consume alcohol. In a study published by the Population Research and Policy Review, Patrick M. Krueger, PhD, suggests that those who abstain from alcohol for either positive reasons (i.e. religious beliefs) or negative reasons (i.e. heightened risk for addiction) should not necessarily be urged to drink, as they will likely be unaffected or negatively affected by regular alcohol consumption. However, those who abstain for neutral reasons (i.e. the taste) should consider increasing their alcohol intake to reap the health benefits.
Using our life expectancy calculator, and holding all factors constant (gender, age, race, general health, exercise habits, marital status, etc.) besides level of alcohol consumption, the relationship between alcohol intake and longevity can be clearly seen. We ran the numbers for a 55-year-old Caucasian woman in very good health, with an average build (5'4”, 120 lbs.), and an exercise regime of 1-2 times per week. This woman is married, has completed a full college education, has never smoked, and does not have diabetes. The teetotaler (0 drinks/week) and the excessive drinker (8+ drinks/week) were projected to live to 92 and 93 years old, respectively. The same person having one drink per week was projected to live to 94, and the moderate drinker (2-7 drinks/week) was projected to live 95 years. Based on the research published in JAMA, it appears that drinking more than a drink a day can still be healthy, especially for men if done in a regimented way and not in excess.
Healthy drinking habits cannot be discussed without mention of drunk driving accidents. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention someone in the U.S. is killed every 51 minutes by a crash involving a driver under the influence of alcohol. Car accidents are the leading cause of death for young adults, and of the the fatal vehicle accidents involving a driver with a BAC over the legal limit, 33% of those drivers were 21-24 years old. Drunk driving is irrefutably reducing longevity in developed nations. Despite vast increases in knowledge about and prevention of drunk driving in recent years, those who choose to drive, particularly late at night on weekends, are at heightened risk for a fatal accident with an alcohol-impaired driver, regardless of their own alcohol intake. This is not to say that one should avoid driving altogether, but choosing other forms of transportation can increase your life expectancy, whether it be walking (good for your health!) or public transportation (good for the environment!).
So to summarize, most research seems to arrive at the same set of conclusions:
- Drinking in a pattern of moderation has a number of beneficial effects on your cardiovascular system, and is correlated with a greater life span.
- Drinking in excess increases the risk of many medical issues and of accidents, namely drunk driving accidents.
- Each person is unique in their choice to drink or not, and in what exactly constitutes a regular pattern of moderate drinking.