Alcoholism Shortens Life More Than Smoking: Study

 

By Steven Reinberg
HealthDay Reporter

TUESDAY, Oct. 16 (HealthDay News) — New research suggests that people who are alcohol-dependent, particularly women, may be cutting their lives even shorter than smokers.

In the study, German researchers found death rates were 4.6-fold higher among alcohol-dependent women and 1.9-fold higher among alcohol-dependent men, compared with the general population.

“This paper confirms the well-known association between alcoholism and premature death,” said Dr. James Garbutt, professor of psychiatry at the University of North Carolina, who was not involved in the study. “It also supports the evidence that women are more likely to have more severe health problems from alcohol than men — ‘sicker quicker.’ “

The report was published online Oct. 16 in the journalAlcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research.

For the study, lead by Ulrich John, director of the Institute of Epidemiology and Social Medicine at University Medicine Greifswald, the researchers collected data on more than 4,000 men and women who were part of a German registry and followed for 14 years. Read More…