[conroe64]

What do you think of the study mentioned in this article that indicates that heavy drinkers outlive abstainers?

http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2017200...

Here is the study itself:

http://courses.ttu.edu/jkoch/ETOH/Readings/Late_life_alcohol...

[mike_esspe]

Looks like confounding factors are the reason.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22152665

CONCLUSIONS: Among older adults who are moderate drinkers, the apparent unique effects of wine on longevity may be explained by confounding factors correlated with wine consumption.

[conroe64]

I don't understand what you are trying to show with this study. It compares moderate drinkers among themselves according to the type of alcohol consumed. It doesn't compare drinkers vs non drinkers

[logicchains]

Interestingly, one study has found that the reasons for abstaining actually determine whether or not it results in slightly worse health outcomes than light drinking:

http://www.colorado.edu/ibs/pubs/pop/pop2012-0006.pdf

"Mortality risk is low for light drinkers and many individua ls who abstain from drinking—including those who abstain for religious and moral reasons, have a responsibility to family, were brought up not to drink, and are not social; it is higher among former, infrequent, and moderate drinkers, and individuals who abstain because they do not like the taste of alcohol, are concerned that they will lose control, or are concerned about adverse consequences. Unsurprisingly, mortality risk is by far the highest for heavy drinkers. We reveal that reasons for abstention capture heterogeneity in the risk of death among lifetime abstainers. "

[carbocation]

The covariates for which one is able to control are necessarily limited, so we're left to speculate. I will speculate that if you could add a covariate such as "Used to drink lightly but stopped entirely because of a health problem" you will find the answer.

This study did create a variable which is the number of health problems and symptoms a person has. However, people can have one bad health problem/symptom (e.g., COPD on 3L home O2) which affects them more than 10 minor health problems might affect someone else.

As an aside, it is curious that this study did not replicate the repeatedly-observed finding of an association between obesity and mortality (OR = 1.00 in this study).

I will also add that this study is looking at older adults (aged 55-65 at the outset of a 20-year study, so they ended up dead or 75-85), which is different from the people discussed in the original thread (working age adults).