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Alcohol's primary mechanism of screwing up your body is inhibiting methylation[1][2]. There was a study of Harvard graduates that tracked how a few hundred did

Alcohol's primary mechanism of screwing up your body is inhibiting methylation[1][2]. There was a study of Harvard graduates that tracked how a few hundred did into their 90s. To quote the study: "In fact, alcoholism is the single strongest cause of divorce between the Grant Study men and their wives. Alcoholism was also found to be strongly coupled with neurosis and depression (which most often follows alcohol abuse, rather than preceding it). Together with cigarette smoking, alcoholism proves to be the #1 greatest cause of morbidity and death. And above a certain level, intelligence doesn’t prevent the damage. "[3] 1. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20868231 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20868231 2. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24313162 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24313162 3. http://www.recoverystories.info/75-years-in-the-making-harvard-just-released-its-epic-study-on-what-men-need-to-live-a-happy-life/ http://www.recoverystories.info/75-years-in-the-making-harva...

thomyorkie 11y ago
I think everyone agrees that alcoholism or chronic alcohol abuse is bad for you. The interesting question is if moderate or light use is correlated with longevity.
- clickok 11y ago
  ...but there's all sorts of confounds there, too. Like is a lifestyle that features moderate drinking more likely to include longevity promoting things like exercise, friends, and financial security? I am not sure how easy this could be to study-- swearing off alcohol for life as part of a science experiment sounds like a sitcom plot; anyone who goes along with it may not be representative of the general population.
  - Jtsummers 11y ago
    It seems we need more lifelong study participants. No one would have to deliberately swear it off as a part of the study if the population was large enough. Statistically we'd end up with enough individuals who don't drink or rarely drink.
    - greglindahl 11y ago
      You're describing an observational study, which has significant scientific problems compared to a randomized study. Sure, you can end up with a lot of non-drinkers, but you will have to attempt to correct for the fact that they probably won't be similar to drinkers. A randomized study starts off with 2 very similar populations. You still have to worry about dropouts skewing the results, but at least you started off on the right foot.
- fulafel 11y ago
  There are studies that show total abstinence is negatively correlated with longevity and ones tat show it is positively correlated with depression.

thomyorkie 11y ago

I think everyone agrees that alcoholism or chronic alcohol abuse is bad for you. The interesting question is if moderate or light use is correlated with longevity.

clickok 11y ago
...but there's all sorts of confounds there, too. Like is a lifestyle that features moderate drinking more likely to include longevity promoting things like exercise, friends, and financial security? I am not sure how easy this could be to study-- swearing off alcohol for life as part of a science experiment sounds like a sitcom plot; anyone who goes along with it may not be representative of the general population.
- Jtsummers 11y ago
  It seems we need more lifelong study participants. No one would have to deliberately swear it off as a part of the study if the population was large enough. Statistically we'd end up with enough individuals who don't drink or rarely drink.
  - greglindahl 11y ago
    You're describing an observational study, which has significant scientific problems compared to a randomized study. Sure, you can end up with a lot of non-drinkers, but you will have to attempt to correct for the fact that they probably won't be similar to drinkers. A randomized study starts off with 2 very similar populations. You still have to worry about dropouts skewing the results, but at least you started off on the right foot.
fulafel 11y ago
There are studies that show total abstinence is negatively correlated with longevity and ones tat show it is positively correlated with depression.