Study: Wine drinkers live longer than spirits and beer drinkers

What you drink may matter as much as how much you drink, a sweeping new study suggests. In research analysing data from 340,924 participants in the UK Biobank collected between 2006 and 2022, with more than 13 years of average follow-up, wine was linked to lower mortality while beer and spirits were tied to higher death risk, according to Fox News, citing findings presented at the American College of Cardiology’s Annual Scientific Session.

Moderate wine drinkers had a 21% lower risk of dying from cardiovascular disease than those who never or occasionally drank, while spirits, beer and cider drinkers at the same intake levels recorded a 9% higher death risk.

Heavy alcohol consumption, however, raised the overall death risk by 24% regardless of beverage type, with heavy drinkers also 36% more likely to die from cancer and 14% more likely to die from cardiovascular disease.

Researchers attributed wine’s apparent advantage to polyphenols and antioxidants. However, experts cautioned that the study was observational and cannot prove cause and effect, noting wine drinkers may also have different dietary and lifestyle habits. The findings have not yet been published in a peer-reviewed journal.