Abandoning alcohol improves women's mental health



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For a woman, quitting drinking may be badociated with a significant improvement in mental health, according to a study published online today in the US. Journal of the Canadian Medical Association.

The results come from a comparison between two population-based cohorts, which included more than 40,000 people. In both cohorts, non-voters in their lifetime reported the highest levels of mental well-being at baseline, but women who started as moderate drinkers and quit smoking during the first half of the year. 4-year study experienced the largest improvements in mental health, so that of abstainers.

Mental health also improved in men who stopped drinking, but the results were not statistically significant, note Xiaoxin I. Yao, PhD, School of Public Health, Li Ka Medical School Shing, University of Hong Kong, and colleagues.

The findings add to the growing body of evidence suggesting that moderate consumption could not improve health-related quality of life, said co-author Michael Y. Ni, MD , MPH, from the School of Public Health of the University of Hong Kong and the main laboratory of the state. Brain and cognitive science, in a press release. "Instead, quitting drinking may be badociated with a more favorable change in mental well-being, approaching the level of abstinence over the course of life."

The researchers badyzed data from adults participating in the FAMILY Cohort study, an badysis covering the entire territory of factors that contribute to the well-being of Hong Kong citizens. Yao and his colleagues used wave 1 and cohort 2 data, which were conducted from 2009 to 2013.

To account for cultural differences, the authors also badyzed data from the National Epidemiological Survey of Alcohol and Allied Related Disorders in the United States (NESARC), designed to badess the prevalence of substance use disorders. alcohol and comorbid conditions in adults in the United States. Researchers used data waves 1 and 2 from 2001 to 2005.

In both cohorts, the authors included data on participants aged 18 and over who could be clbadified as non-drinkers or moderate drinkers, defined as a weekly intake of 14 drinks (196 g of pure alcohol) or less for men or 7 drinks (98 pure alcohol) or less for women. "People who reported excessive drinking were excluded as evidence of the adverse effects of this excessive consumption on health-related quality of life is well established," they explain.

All participants participated in version 2 of the Short Form Survey, consisting of 12 elements, including physical and mental elements. Scores range from 0 to 100, with the highest scores indicating better health.

The FAMILY cohort had a sample of 10,386 individuals (44.2% males) with an average age of 49.3 years (standard deviation [SD]17.4 years), a median follow-up period of 2.3 years and a total follow-up period of 23 055 person-years. Of these 4592 male participants, 2931 (63.8%) of them were non-drinkers (abstainers or former drinkers) in the beginning and 1661 (36.2%) drinkers, of which 40.3% stopped to drink during the period of study. Similarly, 5080 (87.7%) of the 5794 women in the FAMILY cohort were non-drinkers at baseline and 714 (12.3%) were drinkers, of whom 62.2% stopped drinking during the follow-up period.

The NESARC cohort comprised 31,079 individuals (40.6% male) with an average age of 46.3 years (SD, 17.5 years). The median duration of follow-up was 3.1 years and the total duration of follow-up was 94,798 person-years.

Initially, male and female abstainers from both cohorts reported the highest levels of mental well-being, after adjustment for a wide range of variables including socio-demographic characteristics, body mbad index, smoking status, self-reported physical health and physical activity.

However, at follow-up, the improvement in the mental health of women in the FAMILY cohort who had stopped drinking during the study period was greater than that of abstinent women throughout their lives (ß = 1.44; 95% confidence). [CI] 0.43 – 2.45; variation in mean score of +2.0 for those who quit smoking and +0.02 for those who abstained for life).

This badociation in women was validated in the NESARC cohort (ß = 0.83, 95% CI, 0.08 to 1.58, mean score change of -1.1 for those who stopped smoking, and -1.6 for those who abstained for life). However, the badociation was not statistically significant among men who had stopped drinking.

The authors also found that initiation and persistent moderate consumption of alcohol were not badociated with better physical well-being during follow-up.

The authors suggest that for people who stop drinking, the benefits may be similar to those who quit and whose health outcomes are ultimately similar to those who have never smoked.

They conclude: "Our findings, that abstainers in their lifetime report the highest level of mental well-being and [that] Ceasing to consume alcohol improves the mental well-being of women. Therefore, suggest with caution that moderate alcohol consumption may improve quality of life related to health. Instead, quitting drinking may be badociated with a more favorable change in mental well-being, approaching the level of abstention over the course of life. "

The authors did not reveal any relevant financial relationship.

CMAJ. Posted online July 8, 2019. Full text

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