Alcohol and mortality in Mexico: prospective study of 150 000 adults

Background

Alcohol consumption is a leading cause of premature death globally, but there is no large-scale prospective evidence from Mexico.

Methods

The Mexico City Prospective Study recruited 150 000 adults aged 35 years or older between 1998 and 2004. Participants were followed up until Oct 1, 2022 for cause-specific mortality. Cox regression in those with no self-reported chronic disease at entry (adjusted for age, sex, district, education, physical activity, smoking, and diabetes) was used to relate baseline-reported alcohol consumption (never, former, occasional [less than monthly], and regular [at least monthly, split into <70, ≥70 to <140, ≥140 to <210, and ≥210 g/week]) to mortality at ages 35–74 from all causes, and from a pre-specified alcohol-related set of underlying causes. Heavy episodic drinking (normally consuming >5 [men] or >4 [women] drinks on a single occasion) and type of preferred drink were also examined.

Findings

Among 138 413 participants aged 35–74 years at recruitment, 21 136 (15%) were regular alcohol drinkers (14 863 [33%] men, 6273 [7%] women), of whom 13 383 (63%) favoured spirits and 6580 (31%) favoured beer. During follow-up, there were 13 889 deaths at ages 35–74 years, including 3067 deaths from the pre-specified alcohol-related causes. Overall, J-shaped associations with mortality were observed. Compared with occasional drinkers, those with baseline-reported consumption ≥210 g/week had 43% higher all-cause mortality (rate ratio [RR] 1·43 [95% CI 1·30–1·56]) and nearly three times the mortality from the pre-specified alcohol-related causes (2·77 [2·39–3·20]). Death from liver disease was strongly related to alcohol consumption; the RR comparing regular drinkers of ≥140 g/week with occasional drinkers was 4·03 (3·36–4·83). Compared with occasional light drinking, occasional heavy episodic drinking was associated with 20% higher alcohol-related mortality (1·20 [1·06–1·35]), and regular heavy episodic drinking was associated with 89% higher alcohol-related mortality (1·89 [1·67–2·15]). Drinks with alcohol percentages higher than spirits were associated with the greatest increased mortality risk, even after accounting for the total alcohol consumed.

Interpretation

In this Mexican population, higher alcohol consumption, episodic drinking, and very high percentage alcoholic products were all associated with increased mortality.

Funding

Wellcome Trust, the Mexican Health Ministry, the National Council of Science and Technology for Mexico, Cancer Research UK, British Heart Foundation, and the UK Medical Research Council.

Translation

For the Spanish translation of the abstract see Supplementary Materials section.