Drinking patterns and their association with disease and mortality risk
The term drinking pattern refers to the overall manner in which alcoholic beverages are consumed, including the amount and frequency of alcohol intake, the type of beverage, the context of drinking, and the presence of binge drinking episodes. While binge drinking and heavy alcohol intake are known risk factors for cardiovascular diseases, low-to-moderate drinking has been associated with a J-shaped relationship with coronary heart disease (CHD) and all-cause mortality.
The authors note that there is ongoing debate regarding the J-shaped relationship due to factors like confounding variables and the lack of long-term randomized controlled trials. Thus, the study aimed to address gaps in existing research by using a comprehensive approach to identify distinct drinking patterns in a middle-aged population and examine their relationship with CHD, stroke, and all-cause mortality risk using Latent Class Analysis (LCA). This approach allows for capturing the complexity of individuals’ drinking behaviours, providing valuable insights into health outcomes.
The study identified four distinct drinking patterns among the 46,141 middle-aged Danes: low, low-to-moderate, moderate-regular, and frequent-heavy drinkers. The more frequent drinking pattern for males (36.4%) and females (46.2%) was characterised by a median of 3 (2–5) drinks per week, consumed on fewer than one or up to 2 days per week, primarily wine, socially during meals, and in a non-binge manner.
The results showed that frequent-heavy drinking, often alone at home and not always within meals, was associated with a 20% higher risk of stroke and all-cause mortality compared to low drinkers. Current abstainers were at high risk for adverse outcomes such as stroke, CHD and all-cause mortality compared with low-drinkers. The authors noted that while moderate drinking may offer some health benefits, particularly concerning heart disease, it is crucial to understand the complexities of drinking patterns and their effects on health outcomes.
