Mortality and life expectancy of people with alcohol use disorder in Denmark, Finland and Sweden PMC

Alcohol abusers often fail to realize the dangers of their drinking habits until they’ve moved into the middle stage of alcoholism. This stage of alcoholism starts when people experience an increasing tolerance to alcohol and raise their alcohol intake with greater frequency and quantity. At this point, the drinker depends on alcohol to feel “normal” and may experience negative symptoms or feelings when they are not drinking. Over time there is a progression of liver disease from hepatitis (inflammation) to fibrosis (hardening) and eventually to scarring of the tissue (cirrhosis). “Although non-fatal heart attacks are less likely in people who drink, this benefit is swamped by the increased risk of other forms of heart disease including fatal heart attacks and stroke.”

Medical dislaimer

Informed by her personal journey to recovery and support of loved ones in sobriety, Jessica’s empathetic and authentic approach resonates deeply with the Addiction Help community. In addition to managing a successful family medical practice, Dr. Hoffman is board certified in addiction medicine by the American Osteopathic Academy of Addiction Medicine (AOAAM). https://ecosoberhouse.com/article/5-stages-of-alcoholism/ Dr. Hoffman has successfully treated hundreds of patients battling addiction. Dr. Hoffman is the Co-Founder and Chief Medical Officer of AddictionHelp.com and ensures the website’s medical content and messaging quality. No matter what stage of addiction you or a loved one may be in, addiction treatment is available to help you overcome alcoholism.

Insurance May Cover The Cost of Alcohol Addiction Treatment

The availability of nationwide health registers enabled us to follow the entire study population. The large population size (all people treated for AUD from three countries) provided highly reliable data. Much time and effort was invested in quality assurance of statistical analytical techniques, which made the data comparable between the different countries.

Is drinking some alcohol better than not drinking it at all?

The combination of health consequences, co-occurring conditions, lifestyle factors, and long-term effects emphasizes the importance of addressing this issue as a significant public health concern. To better understand the life expectancy of individuals with alcoholism, several studies have been conducted to explore the impact of alcohol use disorder on longevity. These studies provide valuable insights into the relationship between alcoholism and life expectancy, shedding light on regional and demographic variations, as well as the long-term effects of alcoholism. Furthermore, individuals with alcoholism may engage in risky behaviors, such as drunk driving or engaging in violence, which can lead to accidental injuries or premature death. Substance abuse can also strain personal relationships, leading to social isolation and a lack of support systems, which can further impact overall health and well-being.

• If a person drinks frequently or more heavily, the nerve cells in the brain adapt by reducing the number of places they can receive these messages.
• That’s because these are only correlations (which does not necessarily mean causation).
• The conclusion of the study was that people who have to be hospitalized because of the negative health effects of their alcoholism typically have an average life expectancy of 47 to 53 years for men and 50 to 58 years for women.
• Research has generally not found health benefits for people with heavier drinking habits — and, in fact, a recent report says that alcohol abuse is contributing to a decline in U.S. life expectancy.
• The body can become distressed even when a person stops drinking for a short time.
• Laura Morris is an experienced clinical practitioner and CQC Registered Manager with over twenty years experience, over ten of which have been as an Independent Nurse Prescriber.

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• However, the World Health Organization data used in this study were supported by similar results from population surveys in Denmark, Finland and Sweden (17–19).
• After crunching the numbers, the researchers determined that the individuals who were hospitalized for alcohol use disorder, on average, saw a year decrease in overall life expectancy.
• This means those positive alcohol studies could be vastly under-counting alcohol-related deaths since they’re not including enough younger subjects.
• Since animal studies can be done in controlled environments there are many fewer variables that could confound the results compared to epidemiological studies on human populations.
• It should be noted that the regular drinkers in Table 1 includes the ex-drinker group because the portion of ex-drinker was very small (3%) but the hazard ratios were large and were comparable with regular drinkers.

Previous studies have strongly indicated that modest drinking was beneficial to CVD13,14,15,35,36. In contrast, Holmes et al. indicated that there were no protective effects toward CVD in low-moderate alcohol consumption group based on the Mendelian randomization analysis38. Our study also reveals non-significant CVD risk between modest-drinker and non-drinker (Table 2). However, in terms of expanded CVD (i.e., CVD plus type 2 diabetes and kidney disease), the risk is significantly reduced by 14% compared to non-drinkers. Consistent with our results, other studies also revealed the reduced type 2 diabetes risk among modest drinkers in both Western and Asian populations by improving the insulin sensitivity7,9,29,39. Life expectancy was 24–28 years shorter in people with alcohol use disorder than in the general population.

• Animal studies showing life extension from moderate amounts of alcohol.
• The person now spends the bulk of their time servicing the disease by drinking.
• But for a person who drinks heavily, the body adapts the majority of the time.
• She brings 10 years of legal experience to AMS, beginning her career with Buchanan, Ingersoll & Rooney, LLP, where she practiced corporate law.
• Reach out today, before chronic conditions develop, and a health care or recovery expert will help guide you in next steps.

Stage 1: Early-Stage Alcoholism

She is currently working on her degree in Psychology to better serve the growing number of co-occurring needs of those suffering from the disease of addiction, as well as experiencing mental health issues. Kari is passionate in her work with patients and referents to establish care plans and discharges that provide for the best success in recovery. Is a Licensed and Board Certified Acupuncturist that specializes in Physical Medicine and Pain Management. Rebecca has a passion for helping people reach their health goals through the most natural means possible.

• It still found that moderate drinking may protect against heart attacks, strokes, chest pain and fatal heart disease.
• Corticosteroids are used to treat severe alcoholic hepatitis by decreasing inflammation in the liver.
• Understanding the research and statistics surrounding the life expectancy of alcoholics emphasizes the importance of addressing alcohol use disorder as a significant public health concern.
• Withdrawal symptoms could be serious, including tremors and hallucinations.
• In the end-stages of alcoholism there are noticeable health conditions, like jaundice, from liver failure.

A new study could change what’s considered moderate drinking

I’m also a sci-fi novelist, wargame rules writer, and enthusiast for cooking things in bacon fat. My sister once called me “King of the Nerds” and it’s a title I’ve been trying to live up to ever since. Well, as just such a person, I decided I wanted an answer to the question of alcohol and aging for myself, so I dug into as much research as I possibly could until how long do alcoholics live I had a conclusion I was satisfied with. BGR’s audience craves our industry-leading insights on the latest in tech and entertainment, as well as our authoritative and expansive reviews. Given this, for those who drink, just a light amount of alcohol seems to be most beneficial. To sum up, we can see that there are numerous potential benefits of alcohol.

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