Table 4.
Relation between alcohol consumption and all cause mortality in women by age (never drinker referent category)
| Alcohol intake | 50-64 years | ≥65 years | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No of deaths | Hazard ratio (95% CI) | P value | No of deaths | Hazard ratio (95% CI) | P value | |||
| Weekly alcohol consumption (1998-2002) | ||||||||
| Model 1*: | ||||||||
| Never drinker | 29 | 1.00 (reference) | 353 | 1.00 (reference) | ||||
| Former drinker | 43 | 1.94 (1.21 to 3.11) | 0.01 | 300 | 1.34 (1.15 to 1.56) | <0.01 | ||
| Not in past 12 months† | 7 | 1.93 (0.84 to 4.40) | 0.12 | 26 | 1.50 (1.01 to 2.24) | 0.05 | ||
| <1 occasion/month | 81 | 1.11 (0.72 to 1.69) | 0.64 | 511 | 0.89 (0.78 to 1.02) | 0.11 | ||
| 1-2 occasions/month | 52 | 0.84 (0.53 to 1.32) | 0.45 | 220 | 0.71 (0.60 to 0.84) | <0.01 | ||
| 0.1-5.0 units | 66 | 0.77 (0.50 to 1.19) | 0.24 | 364 | 0.74 (0.64 to 0.85) | <0.01 | ||
| 5.1-10.0 units | 50 | 0.73 (0.46 to 1.16) | 0.18 | 276 | 0.83 (0.71 to 0.97) | 0.02 | ||
| 10.1-15.0 units | 25 | 0.60 (0.35 to 1.03) | 0.06 | 116 | 0.76 (0.62 to 0.94) | 0.01 | ||
| 15.1-20.0 units | 15 | 0.77 (0.41 to 1.43) | 0.40 | 43 | 0.68 (0.49 to 0.93) | 0.02 | ||
| >20.0 units | 37 | 1.07 (0.66 to 1.74) | 0.79 | 94 | 0.82 (0.66 to 1.03) | 0.10 | ||
| Model 2‡: | ||||||||
| Never drinker | 19 | 1.00 (reference) | 205 | 1.00 (reference) | ||||
| Former drinker | 37 | 1.79 (1.02 to 3.16) | 0.04 | 181 | 1.23 (1.01 to 1.51) | 0.04 | ||
| Not in past 12 months† | 6 | 1.63 (0.64 to 4.13) | 0.30 | 16 | 1.72 (1.03 to 2.88) | 0.04 | ||
| <1 occasion/month | 67 | 1.00 (0.59 to 1.67) | 0.99 | 339 | 0.83 (0.70 to 0.99) | 0.04 | ||
| 1-2 occasions/month | 42 | 0.92 (0.53 to 1.60) | 0.77 | 160 | 0.74 (0.60 to 0.91) | 0.01 | ||
| 0.1-5.0 units | 60 | 0.97 (0.57 to 1.65) | 0.92 | 265 | 0.77 (0.64 to 0.92) | 0.01 | ||
| 5.1-10.0 units | 47 | 0.87 (0.50 to 1.50) | 0.61 | 187 | 0.77 (0.63 to 0.94) | 0.01 | ||
| 10.1-15.0 units | 22 | 0.68 (0.36 to 1.29) | 0.24 | 89 | 0.85 (0.66 to 1.10) | 0.22 | ||
| 15.1-20.0 units | 14 | 1.01 (0.50 to 2.05) | 0.98 | 37 | 0.74 (0.52 to 1.06) | 0.10 | ||
| >20.0 units | 32 | 1.10 (0.61 to 1.98) | 0.76 | 74 | 0.79 (0.60 to 1.03) | 0.09 | ||
| Consumption on heaviest day (1999-2008) | ||||||||
| Model 1*: | ||||||||
| Never drinker | 32 | 1.00 (reference) | 346 | 1.00 (reference) | ||||
| Former drinker | 38 | 1.28 (0.80 to 2.04) | 0.31 | 295 | 1.33 (1.14 to 1.56) | <0.01 | ||
| Not in past 12 months† | 7 | 1.44 (0.63 to 3.26) | 0.39 | 37 | 1.01 (0.72 to 1.41) | 0.97 | ||
| <1 occasion/month | 90 | 0.91 (0.61 to 1.37) | 0.66 | 577 | 0.80 (0.70 to 0.92) | <0.01 | ||
| 1-2 occasions/month | 46 | 0.65 (0.41 to 1.02) | 0.06 | 213 | 0.67 (0.56 to 0.79) | <0.01 | ||
| >2 occasions/month§ | 17 | 0.77 (0.43 to 1.39) | 0.39 | 95 | 0.86 (0.68 to 1.07) | 0.180 | ||
| 0.1-1.5 units | 45 | 0.57 (0.36 to 0.90) | 0.02 | 466 | 0.76 (0.66 to 0.87) | <0.01 | ||
| 1.6-3.0 units | 64 | 0.54 (0.35 to 0.82) | <0.01 | 267 | 0.72 (0.61 to 0.85) | <0.01 | ||
| 3.1-4.5 units | 20 | 0.58 (0.33 to 1.01) | 0.06 | 39 | 0.68 (0.49 to 0.95) | 0.02 | ||
| >4.5 units | 38 | 0.68 (0.43 to 1.09) | 0.11 | 36 | 0.71 (0.50 to 1.00) | 0.05 | ||
| Model 2‡: | ||||||||
| Never drinker | 19 | 1.00 (reference) | 195 | 1.00 (reference) | ||||
| Former drinker | 33 | 1.19 (0.67 to 2.11) | 0.55 | 164 | 1.14 (0.92 to 1.41) | 0.22 | ||
| Not in past 12 months† | 6 | 1.31 (0.52 to 3.31) | 0.57 | 20 | 1.23 (0.77 to 1.96) | 0.38 | ||
| <1 occasion/month | 70 | 0.80 (0.48 to 1.34) | 0.40 | 388 | 0.79 (0.66 to 0.94) | 0.01 | ||
| 1-2 occasions/month | 40 | 0.78 (0.45 to 1.36) | 0.38 | 152 | 0.70 (0.56 to 0.86) | <0.01 | ||
| >2 occasions/month§ | 16 | 0.96 (0.49 to 1.88) | 0.90 | 63 | 0.92 (0.69 to 1.22) | 0.55 | ||
| 0.1-1.5 units | 39 | 0.75 (0.43 to 1.31) | 0.32 | 305 | 0.76 (0.63 to 0.91) | <0.01 | ||
| 1.6-3.0 units | 57 | 0.65 (0.38 to 1.10) | 0.11 | 192 | 0.73 (0.60 to 0.90) | <0.01 | ||
| 3.1-4.5 units | 18 | 0.62 (0.32 to 1.20) | 0.16 | 28 | 0.58 (0.39 to 0.87) | 0.01 | ||
| >4.5 units | 34 | 0.66 (0.37 to 1.18) | 0.17 | 27 | 0.63 (0.42 to 0.95) | 0.03 | ||
| Sample sizes (weekly): | ||||||||
| Model 1 | 6051 | 5562 | ||||||
| Model 2 | 5444 | 4293 | ||||||
| Sample sizes (heaviest day): | ||||||||
| Model 1 | 11 596 | 10 267 | ||||||
| Model 2 | 10 323 | 7949 | ||||||
*Adjusted for age.
†Participants who reported being current drinkers and also reported not having consumed alcohol within the 12 months before interview.
‡As model 1, plus adjustment for body mass index, economic activity, education, ethnicity, government office region, marital status, smoking status, and social class.
§Participants who reported an average annual frequency of >2 occasions/month but who reported not drinking in the week before interview.