Age, alcohol consumption, and all-cause mortality

PURPOSE: Numerous epidemiological studies on middle aged men suggest that moderate alcohol consumption lowers all-cause mortality. Uncertainty exists whether this finding also applies to younger adults. METHODS: The authors studied the age specific association between alcohol consumption and all-cause mortality in a cohort of 19,943 male employees in the German construction industry (age range 25-64 years) who underwent an occupational health examination between 1986 and 1992 and were followed with respect to vital status over an average period of 10 years. Information on alcohol consumption at baseline examination relied on self report and strongly correlated with biological markers of alcohol consumption. Covariates considered in the proportional hazard regression analysis included age, nationality, smoking status, and comorbidity. RESULTS: Age specific analysis revealed that the J/U-shaped association between alcohol consumption and all-cause mortality is limited to men aged 35 years and above. In contrast, a linear positive dose-response relationship was observed for men aged 25 to 34 years (p-trend = 0.02). CONCLUSIONS: Recommendations regarding alcohol consumption and potential health benefits should not be generalized to all ages. (C) 2004 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.