Study of 340,000 adults links moderate wine use to lower death risk than beer or spirits

LONDON - A large analysis of more than 340,000 British adults found that heavy drinking raised the risk of death no matter whether people mainly drank wine, beer, cider, or spirits. At lower levels of drinking, outcomes diverged by beverage type, according to summaries of the research reported by Fox News, ScienceDaily, and other outlets.

High drinkers had about a 24 percent higher risk of death from any cause, a 36 percent higher risk of death from cancer, and a 14 percent higher risk of death from heart disease compared with lighter reference groups in the study summaries. Those higher risks appeared across beverage categories when intake was heavy.

At low and moderate levels, people who mainly drank spirits, beer, or cider had a significantly higher risk of death than never or occasional drinkers. People who drank similar amounts of wine had a significantly lower risk of death. Moderate wine drinkers had about a 21 percent lower risk of dying from cardiovascular disease than never or occasional drinkers, according to reports on the analysis.

The data came from the UK Biobank, a long-running health resource that tracks volunteers over many years. Observational studies of alcohol can be skewed by income, diet, exercise, smoking, and social patterns. Wine drinkers in many Western countries often have higher education and different meal habits than beer or spirits drinkers. Researchers attempt to adjust for those factors, but residual confounding remains a known limit.

Public health agencies in the United States still advise that people who do not drink should not start for health reasons. For those who already drink, guidelines emphasize limits rather than switching brands as a medical plan. Excess alcohol remains linked to liver disease, several cancers, accidents, and high blood pressure.

For adults over 50, medication interactions and fall risk matter as much as long-term mortality statistics. Doctors often review alcohol use during annual visits because even moderate intake can affect sleep, atrial fibrillation risk, and blood sugar control.

The study adds detail to a long debate about whether wine is different from other drinks. It does not prove that wine prevents disease. It does show that, in this large British sample, beverage type tracked with different risk patterns once heavy use was separated from lighter use.