Alcohol consumption as a predictor of mortality and life expectancy in older Chinese males

Alcohol consumption as a predictor of mortality and life expectancy in older Chinese males
A study in China estimated the impact of drinking on all-cause mortality, total life expectancy, and disability-free life expectancy for Chinese males aged 65 and above.
Using a nationally representative sample from the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey (CLHLS), the researchers compared mortality risks among lifelong abstainers, former drinkers, and current drinkers. They found that current male drinkers had lower risks of death than lifelong abstainers in general and the differences were statistically significant among those aged between 68 and 87 years.
After adjustment for socioeconomic factors, the researchers estimated that an average current male drinker at age 65 could expect to live 18.0 (95% CI: 17.4-18.6) years in total, compared with 16.3 (95% CI: 15.6-17.0) years for lifelong abstainers. His disability-free life expectancy at age 65 was about 16.1 (95% CI: 15.6-16.7) years, longer than the 14.2 (95% CI: 13.6-14.9) years for lifelong abstainers.
Source: Dandan Yu, Bei Lu, John Piggott, Alcohol consumption as a predictor of mortality and life expectancy: Evidence from older Chinese males, The Journal of the Economics of Ageing, Volume 22, 2022,100368,ISSN 2212-828X, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeoa.2022.100368.