Alcohol consumption and mortality in an American male population: recovering the U-shaped curve--findings from the normative Aging Study.

Several prospective studies have suggested that moderate alcohol consumption may offer protection against total and coronary heart disease (CHD) mortality. These studies have been criticized for failing to control for changes in drinking and the influence of comorbidity on consumption decisions. In the present study, we examined whether rates of death from all causes and from CHD were related to overall consumption as well as variability in or problems with drinking.

The MAC scale in a normal population: the meaning of "false positives".

The MAC scale has been very successful in identifying alcoholics and, in studies of clinical populations, is often considered a test for predisposition to alcoholism. MacAndrew, however, holds that the MAC scale assesses a more general personality trait characterized by sociability, boldness, rebelliousness and pleasure seeking. The present study examines the distribution of MAC scale scores in a normal population and tests for correlates of high MAC scores other than alcohol-related problems (e.

White blood cell count as a predictor of mortality: results over 18 years from the Normative Aging Study.

The ubiquitous white blood cell count (WBC) has rarely been analyzed as a predictor of future mortality. We examined WBC measured in prospective examinations of 2011 initially healthy men in the Normative Aging Study (mean age 47.5), followed for an average of 13.

Change in drinking behaviors with retirement: findings from the normative aging study.

This study examines changes in drinking behaviors over an approximately 2-year span in two groups of community-dwelling men: 100 men who retired between baseline (T1) and follow-up (T2) and 316 men who remained employed. Measures were obtained from two drinking surveys conducted as part of a panel study of aging. Results indicate that the event of retirement was not a significant predictor of changes in average alcohol consumption, although retirees showed more variability between T1 and T2.

Predictors of reduction and cessation of drinking in community-dwelling men: results from the normative aging study.

As part of a longitudinal study of health and aging, the conditions and motivational factors that prospectively predicted either cessation or reduction in alcohol consumption were compared. Data were from 1,517 community-dwelling men who in 1973 (Time 1) and 1982 (Time 2) completed mailed questionnaires about their drinking behaviors. Time 2 quitters (n = 62) had consumed no alcohol for at least the 6 months before that survey; reducers (n = 255) had decreased their yearly alcohol consumption by at least one-half.