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Patterns of alcohol drinking and all-cause mortality: results from a large-scale population-based cohort study in Japan.
- Source :
- American Journal of Epidemiology; Apr2007, Vol. 165 Issue 10, p1039-1046, 8p
- Publication Year :
- 2007
-
Abstract
- To evaluate the hypothesis that, in terms of all-cause death, drinking alcohol 1-4 days per week is less harmful than daily (5-7 days/week) drinking of the same quantity of alcohol, a prospective cohort study using a self-administered questionnaire was conducted in Japan between 1990 and 2003 of 88,746 subjects (41,702 men and 47,044 women) aged 40-69 years at baseline. Among male regular drinkers consuming alcohol more than 1 day per week, light drinkers (<300 g/week) showed no increase in all-cause mortality irrespective of frequency of alcohol intake. Heavy drinkers (> or = 300 g/week), however, showed an increased risk of all-cause mortality among those who consumed alcohol 5-7 days per week, while no obvious increase was observed among those who consumed alcohol less than 4 days per week. Hazard ratios for drinkers who consumed alcohol 5-7 days per week were 1.29 (95% confidence interval: 1.12, 1.50) for 300-449 g per week and 1.55 (95% confidence interval: 1.32, 1.81) for > or = 450 g per week when compared with those for occasional drinkers who consumed alcohol 1-3 days per month. These findings support the Japanese social belief that 'liver holidays,' abstaining from alcohol for more than 2 days per week, are important for heavy drinkers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 00029262
- Volume :
- 165
- Issue :
- 10
- Database :
- Complementary Index
- Journal :
- American Journal of Epidemiology
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 105982237
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1093/aje/kwk112