A study of health conditions related to alcohol consumption cessation

Evidence suggests that people who develop serious health conditions are likely to cease drinking alcohol (sometimes known as ‘sick- quitters’). A group of researchers quantified the likelihood of quitting drinking in relation to the onset of a variety of health conditions.
Odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) of ceasing alcohol consumption after diagnosis of 28 health conditions and four general indicators of health were derived from logistic regression among 97,852 drinkers aged ≥45 years between baseline (2006-2009) and median 5.3 years follow- up in the New South Wales (NSW) 45 and Up Study.
At follow-up, 9.6% of drinkers had ceased drinking. Drinking cessation was significantly associated with 24 of 32 health conditions examined: 15.4% of participants with newly diagnosed diabetes quit drinking (OR for quitting vs continuing 1.77, 95% CI 1.60-1.96), 16.4% with Parkinson’s disease
(1.71), 17.8% with poor memory (1.68), 19.2% with
hip fracture (1.64), 14.7% with stroke (1.45), 12.5% with depression (1.40), 15.0% with breast cancer (1.38), 12.3% with heart disease (1.34), and 13.3% with osteoarthritis (1.22). Strong associations with quitting were observed in those with a decline in self-rated overall health (2.93) and quality of life (2.68). Some health conditions not significantly associated with quitting were prostate cancer, melanoma, non-melanoma skin cancer, hayfever and hearing loss. Findings were generally consistent for men and women, by age-group and by smoking status.
The study findings suggest that diagnosis with a variety of health conditions appears to prompt drinking cessation in older adults.
Source: A prospective study of health conditions related to alcohol consumption cessation among 97,852 drinkers aged 45 and over in Australia. Sarich P, Canfell K, Banks E, Paige E, Egger S, Joshy G, Korda R, Weber M.
Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 2019 Feb 13.