This project was done as a requirement for the Mastering the Process of Data Science course at Central European University in Hungary. The R code along with the datasets can be found in my ceu_life-expectancy https://ecosoberhouse.com/ repository on GitHub. Research indicates significant roles for gradual transitions to full retirement and for coordination between spouses in the typical retirement experience.

All authors conceived and designed the study, analyzed and interpreted the data, critically revised the manuscript for important intellectual content, and obtained funding. C.C.W., and C.P.W. supervised the study, provided quality control on statistical analysis, and reviewed and edited the main manuscript text, wrote the draft of main manuscript text, reviewed and interpreted all statistical results. C.C.W. and C.P.W. had final approval and overall responsibility for the published work. The corresponding author attests that all listed authors meet authorship criteria and that no others meeting the criteria have been omitted.

Can Alcohol Help You Live Longer? Here’s What the Research Really Says

A new study investigates the potential protective effects of alcohol at different ages. Of the 322 with one or more risk factors, 114 (35.4%) had experienced AUD. Also, 161 (50%) did not have alcohol-related risk, but they smoked daily. The researchers found that 447 (11.1%) participants had not consumed any alcohol in the 12 months before the interviews in 1996–1997. Of those, 405 (90.6%) used to drink alcohol, and 322 (72.04%) had engaged in at least one of the listed risky behaviors.

In contrast, regular drinkers had 43% increase in overall mortality (HR 1.43, CI 1.35–1.52) and shortened life by 6.9 years (95% CI 6.6–7.1 years). As most drinkers also smoked, 59% in modest and 75% in regular, the combined effect shortened life by 2.0 years (95% CI 1.6–2.4 years) in modest drinker and 10.3 years (95% CI 9.8–10.7 years) in regular drinker. Cancer were increased in modest drinkers for oral (HR 2.35, CI 1.38–4.01) and esophageal (HR 3.83, CI 1.90–7.73) cancer.

Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey

For example, chronic drinkers are at a greater risk of contracting lung diseases like pneumonia and tuberculosis than moderate drinkers or people who don’t drink at all. This study showed that people with AUD had a four-fold greater risk of premature death than people in the general population, and people with AUD died on average 24–28 years earlier than people in the general population. Previous studies showed the mortality risk to be two- to six-fold greater in people with AUD .

But just like everything else, you should only enjoy it in moderation. Drinking too much can lead to health problems, dependency, and alcohol addiction. This means that chronic drinkers are at a greater risk of contracting serious illnesses and suffering worse mortality rates than the general population. Another major study in the UK/Europe found that consuming 10 to 15 alcoholic drinks every week may shorten an individual’s life expectancy by between one and two years, while those who drink more than 18 drinks a week may lose four to five years. Steven Collier RN is one of the co founders of the Hemet Valley Recovery Center and owner of Addiction Medicine Services Inc. He has been working in the behavioral health field since serving as a command Drug Exemption Officer in the U.S.

The Journal of the Economics of Ageing

The mortality difference between light drinkers and non-drinkers was insignificant, while the risk among heavy drinkers was significantly higher. However, their analysis sample excluded those with prior diseases at baseline, which might bias the estimated relation if non-drinkers life expectancy of an alcoholic were excluded disproportionately. Becausealcoholism, which is referred to as alcohol use disorder in a clinical setting, is a progressive disease, most of the medical conditions above occur in those with chronic addiction to alcohol that has developed over a number of years.

In all three countries, life expectancy was longer for women than men, both for people with AUD and the general population (Table ​ . 2). In Finland, life expectancy for people with AUD increased more for women than men, and the difference in life expectancy between people with AUD and the general population increased for men but decreased for women during the entire study (Table ​ . 2). People with alcohol use disorder have 24–28 years shorter life expectancy than the general population in the Nordic countries. However, the scientists found that both those who never drank alcohol and those who abstained in the 12 months prior to the study and had no previous risk factors did not have a higher rate of death than those who drank low to moderate amounts of alcohol. “It is a problem […] that medical students and patients are given the advice that it might health if they drink low to moderate amounts of alcohol,” Dr. John told Medical News Today.

It’s important to know that no matter what stage, recovery is possible. Learn more about the life expectancy of someone with an alcohol use disorder and how to stop the disease’s progression. Many people know of the short-term consequences of drinking too much such as hangovers, drunk driving accidents, drunken injuries, alcohol blackouts, and alcohol poisoning. However, fewer people stop to think about the real cost of long-term alcohol abuse including the worrisome relationship between drinking and life expectancy. Alcohol addiction is commonly referred to as “alcoholism,” and people who struggle with it are usually called “alcoholics”. Those who suffer from alcohol abuse disorder do not just drink too much or drink routinely; they have a compulsion to drink alcohol, they have to drink all the time, and they cannot control how much they drink.