Abandonment of alcohol can improve mental well-being and quality of life related to health

The badociation of moderate alcohol consumption with specific disorders, including heart disease and cancers, has been well documented. Evidence of the broader impact of alcohol consumption on health-related quality of life is less clear.

In a new study, scientists aimed to examine the badociation of consumption patterns with changes in people's physical and mental well-being.

They found that a change in moderate alcohol consumption could improve women's quality of life, including their mental well-being.

Dr. Michael Ni, School of Public Health and State Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Science, University of Hong Kong (HKU), said: "New evidence suggests that it is safe to recommend drinking moderately as part of a healthy diet. "

Scientists included 10,386 people from the FAMILY cohort study in Hong Kong who were moderate drinkers or not between 2009 and 2013. They then compared their findings with data from the National Epidemiological Survey on Alcohol and related disorders, a representative survey of 31,079 individuals. conducted by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism in the United States.

The average age of members of the FAMILY cohort was 49 years and 56% were women. About 64% of the men were non-drinkers and nearly 88% of the women were non-drinkers. People who abstained all their lives experienced the greatest mental prosperity at the beginning of the exam.

For women who drank moderately and stopped drinking, quitting was linked to an ideal change in the mental prosperity of Chinese and American student populations. These results were evident after the modification of socio-demographic attributes, body mbad index, smoking and various elements.

Dr. Michael Ni said, "Global consumption of alcohol is expected to continue to increase if effective strategies are not used. Our results suggest caution in recommending 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, close to the level of abstention over the course of life. "

The study, conducted by Dr. Xiaoxin Yao, Dr. Michael Ni, Dr. Herbert Pang and colleagues from HKU, is published in the CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal).