Research suggests that not only how much you drink, but also the type of alcohol you consume, can influence its impact on health.

However, experts advise caution, noting that this study may not fully reflect the average drinking patterns of Koreans, and that differences in health outcomes could stem from drinkers' lifestyles or socioeconomic characteristics.

According to a recent issue of the international journal Nutrition Journal, a joint research team from South Korea, China, the United States, and Europe analyzed the relationship between alcohol consumption volume, beverage types, and mortality risk among 340,924 adults aged 40 to 70 registered in the UK Biobank.

The average follow-up period was 13.4 years, during which a total of 22,381 deaths were recorded. Causes of death included 11,063 cancer cases, 4,288 cardiovascular disease cases, and 7,030 from other causes.

The researchers categorized participants into four groups based on pure alcohol intake: "rarely drinks," "low-intake group," "moderate-intake group," and "high-intake group."

The "rarely drinks" group consumed 20g or less of pure alcohol per week for both men and women. The high-intake group was defined as consuming more than 40g per day for men and more than 20g per day for women. Converted into beer with an alcohol content of 5%, this translates to men drinking more than roughly 1,000mL and women drinking more than about 500mL per day.

The analysis revealed that the high-intake group had a 24% higher overall mortality risk compared to the "rarely drinks" group. Specifically, cardiovascular disease mortality risk increased by 14%, and cancer mortality risk by 36%.

Notably, distinct differences in mortality risk emerged depending on the type of alcohol consumed.

Individuals who heavily consumed beer and cider (apple-fermented wine) showed a 51% higher overall mortality risk, a 47% higher cardiovascular disease mortality risk, and a 66% higher cancer mortality risk compared to those who rarely drank those beverages. Even in the low-intake group, cancer mortality risk increased by 7%.

Distilled spirits such as whiskey and vodka showed a correlation with increased mortality risk even at low drinking levels. The low-intake group for distilled spirits had an 8% higher overall mortality risk, a 9% higher cardiovascular disease mortality risk, and a 7% higher cancer mortality risk than the "rarely drinks" group. In the moderate-or-higher intake groups, these figures spiked by 62%, 51%, and 55%, respectively.

In contrast, wine showed a different pattern. Individuals who consumed wine in small amounts had an 11% lower overall mortality risk, a 14% lower cardiovascular disease mortality risk, and an 8% lower cancer mortality risk compared to those who rarely drank wine.

Among moderate wine drinkers, the overall mortality risk was 8% lower, and the cardiovascular disease mortality risk was 21% lower. However, heavy wine consumption still increased cancer mortality risk by 10%.

The research team suggested that the relatively lower mortality risks observed with wine could potentially be linked to antioxidants like resveratrol found in red wine. Nevertheless, they noted that wine drinkers often tend to have higher dietary quality, as well as differences in lifestyles and socioeconomic status compared to fans of other alcohol types, meaning it cannot be definitively concluded that wine itself lowered the mortality risk.

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