Quitting alcohol linked to improved mental wellbeing

A study of 10,386 people from the FAMILY Cohort study Hong Kong and data from the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions of 31,079 people in the United States found that quitting alcohol improves the health quality of life and mental wellbeing, especially in women.

The FAMILY Cohort Study included only non drinkers or ‘moderate’ drinkers (14 drinks or less per week for men and 7 drinks or less per week for women).

Men and women who were lifetime abstainers had the highest level of mental wellbeing at the start of the study (baseline). Women who were ‘moderate’ drinkers who quit drinking were found to have favourable changes in mental wellbeing in both Hong Kong and American study populations. Social economic status, body mass index, smoking and other factors were accounted for in the study.

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This study ‘Change in moderate alcohol consumption and quality of evidence from 2 population based cohorts’ is published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.