Sober people will die sooner than drinkers

[Juddog]

That sucks. I don't understand people like you.

I can have a grand time getting drunk like crazy one day and not drink again for months. I can have a beer or two at a party or bar and not desire any more. I can even go to a wine tasting without getting drunk.

What is it about ethanol that drives you crazy?

It's the same thing why some people can play WoW and still have a social life, or why some people can gamble a little without losing house and home gambling away all of their money. Some people's brains are just wired so that they can't just partially get into something - they just fall into it all the way. Same goes for any addictive activity or substance.

Whether it's upbringing or simply genetics is hard to say, but some people just have that type of personality. For people of that type, the best thing is to find something healthy that they can become obsessed with and stick to it.

 

[Juddog]

Can't be bothered reading the actual linked article, sorry.

But does the study account for the fact that many people give up (or don't start) drinking precisely because they already have health problems? And does it account for the fact that not drinking in the West is somewhat unusual, hence those who choose not to drink are not necessarily a randomly selected sample (i.e. some of them might be a bit weird!).

Would be interesting to see this study done in cultures where not drinking is the norm and its the drinkers who are the freaky ones.

Also, the thing about drink-driving is its the driving that kills you, not the drinking. Any studies on the life-expectancies of drivers vs non-drivers?

How about you read the article instead of asking stupid questions. If you can't be bothered to read a short article, why should anybody bother to sum it up for you?

 

[pmv]

How about you read the article instead of asking stupid questions. If you can't be bothered to read a short article, why should anybody bother to sum it up for you?

Can't help thinking you are taking this internet forum thing a bit too seriously. Perhaps you need a drink?

 

[Ruptga]

Can't be bothered reading the actual linked article, sorry.

But does the study account for the fact that many people give up (or don't start) drinking precisely because they already have health problems? And does it account for the fact that not drinking in the West is somewhat unusual, hence those who choose not to drink are not necessarily a randomly selected sample (i.e. some of them might be a bit weird!).

Would be interesting to see this study done in cultures where not drinking is the norm and its the drinkers who are the freaky ones.

Also, the thing about drink-driving is its the driving that kills you, not the drinking. Any studies on the life-expectancies of drivers vs non-drivers?

Can't be bothered reading your actual post.

But why is cheesecake called -cake when it is clearly more of a pie?

 

[Juddog]

Can't help thinking you are taking this internet forum thing a bit too seriously. Perhaps you need a drink?

Hmm don't mind if I do. *sips cognac*

 

[kami333]

But does the study account for the fact that many people give up (or don't start) drinking precisely because they already have health problems? And does it account for the fact that not drinking in the West is somewhat unusual, hence those who choose not to drink are not necessarily a randomly selected sample (i.e. some of them might be a bit weird!).

Yes.

Yes.

From the original paper:

However, even after adjusting for all covariates, abstainers and heavy drinkers continued to show increased mortality risks of 51 and 45%, respectively, compared to moderate drinkers.

 

[kami333]

I'd like to see the study (it is spoken about, but not referenced in the article). The last study that came up with similar conclusions was found to be flawed because it basically looked at hospital patents that died, and tried to figure out if they were drinking or not. The problem? Many patents in the hospital aren't ALLOWED to drink. Thus the results were skewed to suggest that drinking led to a healthier life.

hmm, for me they linked the paper directly.

"But a new paper in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research suggests that — for reasons that aren't entirely clear — abstaining from alcohol does actually tend to increase one's risk of dying even when you exclude former drinkers." <- paper is a link, takes me right to:
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1530-0277.2010.01286.x/pdf

 

[logo908]

i'll drink to that!

 

[pmv]

Yes.

Yes.

From the original paper:

OK, I've grudgingly read the linked article now, and it does seem as if the finding might be down to selection effects, that is, its correlation but not causation.

The article itself implies that it may be because non-drinkers are less sociable and more prone to depression. Which is what I meant when saying that non-drinking is not the norm in the West, so non-drinkers might be disproporionately 'odd'. And that it would be interesting to see if the same held in societies where not drinking was more normal.

The article seems to suggest that its drinking that _makes_ people sociable, but I don't see that follows - seems at least as likely that people are non-drinkers _because_ they are less sociable. Either way it seems that its not a physiological effect as such, its just that the kind of people who don't drink also tend to be the kind of people who are prone to psychological issues.

No?

 

[brainhulk]

As a recovering alcoholic who abstains from drink, all I can say is, if it works for ya, more power to ya.

One drink for me and the likely outcome is a prodigious bender, usually ending in a trip to detox or me waking from a blackout in jail. Or me not waking up. And I can't have that.

you stopped drinking, do you wanna die earlier or something?

j/k

alcohol is an anticoagulant, so probably some of the effects are due to this property. Less MI's, PE's, and thromboembolic strokes. In addition to the mental health aspects mentioned of course.