Regular alcohol drinking contributes both favourably and adversely to health in the Western populations, but its effects on overall and cause-specific mortality in China are still poorly understood.
A nationally representative prospective cohort study included 220 000 men aged 40–79 years from 45 areas in China in 1990–91, and >40 000 deaths occurred during 15 years of follow-up. Cox regression was used to relate alcohol drinking to overall and cause-specific mortality, adjusting for age, area, smoking and education.
Overall, 33% of the participants reported drinking alcohol regularly at baseline, consuming mainly distilled spirits, with an estimated mean amount consumed of 372 g/week (46.5 units per week). After excluding all men with prior disease at baseline and the first 3 years of follow-up, there was a 5% [95% confidence interval (CI) 2–8] excess risk of overall mortality among regular drinkers. Compared with non-drinkers, the adjusted hazard ratios among men who drank <140, 140–279, 280–419, 420–699 and ≥700 g/week were 0.97, 1.00, 1.02, 1.12 and 1.27, respectively (P < 0.0001 for trend). The strength of the relationship appeared to be greater in smokers than in non-smokers. There was a strong positive association of alcohol drinking with mortality from stroke, oesophageal cancer, liver cirrhosis or accidental causes, a weak J-shaped association with mortality from ischaemic heart disease, stomach cancer and lung cancer and no apparent relationship with respiratory disease mortality.
Among Chinese men aged 40–79 years, regular alcohol drinking was associated with a small but definite excess risk of overall mortality, especially among smokers.
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