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Light to moderate alcohol consumption and mortality in the elderly
P A Scherr1, A Z LaCroix, R B Wallace
1Department of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts 02215.
Journal of the American Geriatrics Society
|July 1, 1992
Summary
Low to moderate alcohol consumption is linked to lower cardiovascular and total mortality in elderly populations. This association was observed in East Boston and New Haven, but not in Iowa.
Area of Science:
- Gerontology
- Epidemiology
- Cardiovascular Health
Background:
- Cardiovascular disease remains a leading cause of mortality in the elderly.
- Previous studies have suggested a J-shaped curve for alcohol consumption and mortality in middle-aged populations.
- The impact of low to moderate alcohol intake on mortality in older adults requires further investigation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between low to moderate alcohol consumption and cardiovascular mortality in community-dwelling elderly individuals.
- To determine if findings from middle-aged populations regarding alcohol and mortality extend to older adults.
Main Methods:
- Prospective cohort study design with a 5-year mortality follow-up.
- Inclusion of community-dwelling men and women aged 65 and older from three distinct populations.
- Exclusion of subjects with prior cardiovascular events, cancer, or incomplete alcohol consumption data, resulting in a final sample size of 6,691 participants.
Main Results:
- Low to moderate alcohol consumption was significantly associated with reduced total and cardiovascular mortality in East Boston and New Haven cohorts.
- Relative risks for total mortality were 0.7 and 0.6 in East Boston and New Haven, respectively.
- Relative risks for cardiovascular mortality were 0.6 and 0.5 in East Boston and New Haven, respectively; these findings remained significant after controlling for confounders. No significant associations were found in the Iowa cohort or for cancer mortality in any cohort.
Conclusions:
- The protective association of low to moderate alcohol consumption with total and cardiovascular mortality observed in middle-aged individuals appears to extend to the elderly population.
- These findings suggest that moderate alcohol intake may contribute to reduced cardiovascular risk in older adults.
- Further research may explore the biological mechanisms underlying this association in the elderly.