The clearest result in a study of 340,924 British adults was also the least surprising one: people who drank heavily died at higher rates than people who rarely drank, and it did not matter whether they favored wine, beer, cider or spirits.
Compared with never or occasional drinkers, participants with high alcohol intake were 24% more likely to die from any cause, 36% more likely to die from cancer and 14% more likely to die from cardiovascular disease, according to the analysis presented at the American College of Cardiology's Annual Scientific Session in New Orleans in late March. The findings were circulated again this month through science news outlets. The first author was Ziyue Li of the Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University in Changsha, China.
