Excessive Alcohol Use and Risks to Men’s Health

We investigated the relationship between habitual alcohol intake in later life and the probability of reaching 90 years in men and women (because alcohol affects women differently from men [15]), within the Netherlands Cohort Study (NLCS). Given the controversies surrounding light-to-moderate alcohol intake and mortality, we concentrated on this category in dose–response modelling. We also aimed to investigate beverage types, stability of drinking over time and effect of excluding ex-drinkers, and binge drinking, because these factors were important in mortality studies. As shown in Table 1, the alcohol consumption rate is quite different between males and females. Life expectancy was 24–28 years shorter in people with alcohol use disorder than in the general population. People with alcohol use disorder had higher mortality from all causes of death (mortality rate ratio, 3.0–5.2), all diseases and medical conditions (2.3–4.8), and suicide (9.3–35.9).

• Scientific studies have consistently found that alcohol use disorder significantly reduces life expectancy.
• Talk to a healthcare provider if you are concerned about your drinking or that of a loved one.
• This is particularly concerning as the perception of alcohol’s harm tends to decrease with age despite the heightened risks.
• For example, fruit flies appear to live longer when a moderate amount of ethanol is introduced to their atmosphere, according to two separate studies conducted in 1989 and 1977, respectively.

Sorting out the health effects of alcohol

The few studies in this area generally have focused on the completion of prescribed treatment activities and adherence to drinking goals—generally abstinence. Of note is that older adults with alcohol use disorder were significantly more likely to complete treatment than younger adults. More recently, Lemke and Moos (2003) found that older adults in residential treatment had better long-term outcomes than matched groups of young and middle-aged patients. Longer duration of care and more use of self-help groups positively influenced outcomes. They also found that older adults were more likely to complete treatment and had more days of sobriety than younger adults. Satre and colleagues (2012) compared 5-year treatment outcomes for adults age 55 or older, age 18–39, and age 40–54.

Alcohol limits cut to reduce risks

Recent studies have provided insights into the complex relationship between alcohol consumption and life expectancy. There was no significant association with pattern of drinking (Appendix Table 4). Although binge drinkers seemed to have a lower probability of reaching 90 than non-binge how long do alcoholics live drinkers, especially in women, the multivariable-adjusted associations were non-significant. When binge drinking was further categorized according to frequency, lower chances of longevity were found in more frequently binge drinking men, but the trend test was not significant.

Alcoholic Hepatitis vs. Viral Hepatitis

In recent years, sociologists and epidemiologists have begun studying the long-term effects (.pdf) of loneliness. We are social primates, and when we’re cut off from the social network, we are more likely to die from just about everything (but especially heart disease). At this point, the link between abstinence and social isolation is merely hypothetical.

Plus, there are enough of the positive animal trials that I’m not willing to write them off as some fluke caused by a lab error. While I could find fewer controlled trials demonstrating negative health impacts of low-doses of alcohol, I still did find a couple. Well, as just such a person, I decided I wanted an answer to the question of alcohol and aging for myself, so I dug into as much research as I possibly could until I had a conclusion I was satisfied with. This activity provides 0.75 CME/CE credits for physicians, physician assistants, nurses, pharmacists, and psychologists, as well as other healthcare professionals whose licensing boards accept APA or AMA credits. This CME/CE credit opportunity is jointly provided by the Postgraduate Institute for Medicine and NIAAA. More resources for a variety of healthcare professionals can be found in the Additional Links for Patient Care.

And all of this is true despite the well-known and well-publicized risks of drinking too much alcohol.

Nevertheless, if you have alcohol-related cirrhosis or alcoholic hepatitis and don’t stop drinking, no medical or surgical treatment can prevent liver failure. Successful treatment for alcohol-related liver disease (ARLD) often depends on whether someone is willing to stop drinking alcohol and make changes to their lifestyle. Even if you’ve been a heavy drinker for many years, reducing or stopping your alcohol intake will have important short- and long-term benefits for your liver and overall health. Drinking a large amount of alcohol, even for just a few days, can lead to a build-up of fats in the liver. This is called alcoholic fatty liver disease, and is the first stage of ARLD. The original version of this article misidentified abstainers (people in the study who were not current drinkers, regardless of their past drinking status) as people who had never drunk.

Effects of Moderate Alcohol Consumption on Life Expectancy

• The body begins to metabolize alcohol within seconds after ingestion and proceeds at a steady rate, regardless of how much alcohol a person drinks or of attempts to sober up with caffeine or by other means.
• One of the most well-known is Alcoholics Anonymous, but there are many other groups that can help.
• And there is a growing body of knowledge about useful screening tools, easy-to-use intervention methods, and brief and long-term treatments for use in the health care setting with this age group.
• They found that the 55-and-over group were less likely to be alcohol/drug dependent at treatment entry and stayed longer in treatment.
• Alcohol consumption was defined as the national average of registered amount of alcohol consumed (litres of pure alcohol) per capita aged ≥15 years during a calendar year.

Effects of Alcohol on Pre-existing Health Conditions