Alcohol consumption could increase risk of death in older patients
Investigators have found that moderate alcohol consumption may increase the risk of mortality in older patients.
In a study published in JAMA Network Open, the investigators used the UK Biobank to explore the relationship between alcohol consumption patterns and mortality among 135,103 current-drinking adults aged 60 years and older. They then categorized the patients into four groups based on their mean daily alcohol consumption: occasional, low-risk, moderate-risk and high-risk drinking.
During a median follow-up of about 12 years, the investigators identified 15,833 deaths — 7,871 and 3,215 of which were related to cancer and cardiovascular disease, respectively. Compared with occasional drinkers, low-risk drinkers had a higher risk of cancer-related mortality, moderate-risk drinkers had a higher risk of all-cause and cancer-related mortality and high-risk drinkers had a higher risk of all-cause, cancer- and cardiovascular disease-related mortality. The excess mortality associated with alcohol consumption was more pronounced in patients with health-related or socioeconomic risk factors.
The findings highlighted inequalities in detrimental health outcomes linked to alcohol consumption that, if addressed, can help reduce the high burden of disease in these patients.
Read more: JAMA Network Open
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