Drinking Up to Half a Glass of Wine Daily Increases Longevity by 5 Years

M.T. Streppel, from the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment writes that, “Whether this protective effect can be attributed to a specific type of beverage remains unclear…. Moreover, little is known about the effects of long-term alcohol intake on life expectancy."

The goal of this analysis was to determine the effect of long-term alcohol intake and types of alcoholic beverages consumed on cardiovascular mortality and life expectancy at age 50 years. The study cohort consisted of 1,373 men enrolled in the Zutphen Study who were born between 1900 and 1920 and evaluated repeatedly between 1960 and 2000.

Time-dependent Cox regression models were used to calculate hazard ratios (HRs) for total alcohol intake and for intake of alcohol from wine, beer and spirits. Areas under survival curves were used to assess life expectancy at age 50 years. Light alcohol intake was defined as consumption of not more than 20 g/day.

Compared with no alcohol consumption, long-term light alcohol intake was strongly and inversely associated with risks for cerebrovascular mortality (HR, 0.43; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.26 – 0.70), total cardiovascular mortality (HR, 0.70; 95% CI, 0.55 – 0.89), and all-cause mortality (HR, 0.75; 95% CI, 0.63 – 0.91).

Long-term wine consumption averaging less than half a glass per day was strongly and inversely associated with coronary heart disease (HR, 0.61; 95% CI, 0.41 – 0.89), total cardiovascular mortality (HR, 0.68; 95% CI, 0.53 – 0.86), and all-cause mortality (HR, 0.73; 95% CI, 0.62 – 0.87), independent of total alcohol intake. Differences in socioeconomic status did not explain these results. Compared with men who did not consume alcohol, men who drank, on average, less than half a glass of wine per day had a life expectancy about 5 years longer.

"Long-term light alcohol intake lowered cardiovascular and all-cause mortality risk and increased life expectancy," the study authors write. "Light wine consumption was associated with 5 years longer life expectancy; however, more studies are needed to verify this result."

"The inverse associations between wine consumption and mortality remained after adjustment for total alcohol intake," the study authors conclude. "Wine consumers had a 5 years longer life expectancy compared with no alcohol consumers; however, more studies are needed to draw conclusions on the strength of the association between wine consumption and mortality."

J Epidemiol Community Health. Published online April 30, 2009.

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