“Alcohol is the key to love and longevity”: scientists have come to a paradoxical conclusion

“This model enhances intimacy.”

Russia has been fighting against domestic drunkenness for many years, but it turns out that it is in vain. American researchers have found that alcohol has a positive effect on the health of older couples.

The results were obtained almost by chance. The fact is that in the United States surveys are regularly conducted as part of the long-term project “Health and Retirement Study”. Data has been collected from people over 50 for two years.

Among the questions in the survey was this: did you drink alcohol over the past three months, and if so, what was the average amount you drank per week? Scientists from the Institute for Social Research at Michigan State University noticed an interesting correlation. It turned out that if an elderly husband and wife drank alcohol together, they lived longer than non-drinking spouses or couples where one person drinks alone.

Data on the life expectancy of spouses were obtained due to the duration of the study: it has been conducted since 1996.

The sample included 4,656 elderly married couples (9,312 people) who participated in at least three waves of the survey, from 1996 to 2016. Information on mortality among respondents was collected as of 2016.

Looking at the average amount of alcohol consumed per week, the researchers found a quadratic relationship between this factor and mortality. Light drinking correlated with higher survival rates for participants and their couple partners. In addition, if the spouses drank the same amount, even if the women in such couples got sick, they recovered much faster.

These findings coincide with earlier work by American scientists from the same institute. Thus, another team found that older married couples with similar drinking patterns were less negative in their assessments of the quality of their marital relationships.

Scientists emphasize that they do not encourage older people to take a glass to strengthen relationships and health. In their work, drinking alcohol together serves only as a marker of partners’ compatibility, their closeness and satisfaction with the relationship.

– Our other work has shown that couples who drink alcohol together tend to have higher quality relationships. This can be explained by the fact that such a model enhances intimacy,” said project leader Kira Birdit.

The research data was published in the authoritative journal Gerontology. The study of the effect of drinking together on the life expectancy of elderly couples will continue.