The association of pattern of lifetime alcohol use and cause of death in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) study.
Bergmann, Manuela M 1,*; Rehm, Jurgen 2,3; Klipstein-Grobusch, Kerstin 4,5; Boeing, Heiner 1; Schutze, Madlen 1; Drogan, Dagmar 1; Overvad, Kim 6; Tjonneland, Anne 7; Halkjaer, Jytte 7; Fagherazzi, Guy 8; Boutron-Ruault, Marie-Christine 8; Clavel-Chapelon, Francoise 8; Teucher, Birgit 9; Kaaks, Rudolph 9; Trichopoulou, Antonia 10,11; Benetou, Vassiliki 10; Trichopoulos, Dimitrios 11-13; Palli, Domenico 14; Pala, Valeria 15; Tumino, Rosario 16; Vineis, Paolo 17,18; Beulens, Joline WJ 4; Redondo, Maria Luisa 19; Duell, Eric J 20; Molina-Montes, Esther 21; Navarro, Carmen 22; Barricarte, Aurelio 23; Arriola, Larraitz 24; Allen, Naomi E 25; Crowe, Francesca L 25; Khaw, Kay-Tee 26; Wareham, Nick 27; Romaguera, Dora 28; Wark, Petra A 29; Romieu, Isabelle 29; Nunes, Luciana 30; Riboli, Elio 28,+; Ferrari, Pietro 29,+
[Miscellaneous Article]
International Journal of Epidemiology.
42(6):1772-1790, December 2013.
(Format: HTML, PDF)
Background There is limited evidence for an association between the pattern of lifetime alcohol use and cause-specific risk of death.
Methods Multivariable hazard ratios were estimated for different causes of death according to patterns of lifetime alcohol consumption using a competing risks approach: 111 953 men and 268 442 women from eight countries participating in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) study were included. Self-reported alcohol consumption at ages 20, 30, 40 or 50 years and at enrolment were used for the analysis; 26 411 deaths were observed during an average of 12.6 years of follow-up.
Results The association between lifetime alcohol use and death from cardiovascular diseases was different from the association seen for alcohol-related cancers, digestive, respiratory, external and other causes. Heavy users (>5 drinks/day for men and >2.5 drinks/day for women), regardless of time of cessation, had a 2- to 5-times higher risk of dying due to alcohol-related cancers, compared with subjects with lifetime light use (<=1 and <=0.5 drink/week for men and women, respectively). Compared with lifetime light users, men who used <5 drinks/day throughout their lifetime had a 24% lower cardiovascular disease mortality (95% confidence interval 2-41). The risk of death from coronary heart disease was also found to be 34-46% lower among women who were moderate to occasionally heavy alcohol users compared with light users. However, this relationship was only evident among men and women who had no chronic disease at enrolment.
Conclusions Limiting alcohol use throughout life is associated with a lower risk of death, largely due to cardiovascular disease but also other causes. However, the potential health benefits of alcohol use are difficult to establish due to the possibility of selection bias and competing risks related to diseases occurring later in life.
(C) International Epidemiological Association 2013. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved.
