11–20 of 46 posts
Complete abstinence from alcohol is also correlated with lower education level and poverty. People with less certainty and control over their lives are more likely to distrust alcohol, justifiably -- the risk that comes with it is more serious for them.
Complete abstinence from alcohol is also correlated with lower education level and poverty. People with less certainty and control over their lives are more likely to distrust alcohol, justifiably -- the risk that comes with it is more serious for them.
"In the weighted model, a one-unit increase in neighborhood poverty at the prior examination was associated with a 86% increase in the odds of binging"
http://journals.lww.com/epidem/Abstract/2010/07000/The_Relat...
Anecdotally, all the cases of alcohol abuse I hear about tend to be in disadvantaged homes.
Correlation does not strictly mean causation. Our statistics professor brought this example once, he explained it that people who don't drink (in a western society) have often problems with their health or are taking medication. Statistics could be often misleading. Another example was that people with bigger feet were more likely to be earn more money. Guess why?
http://circ.ahajournals.org/cgi/content/full/102/19/2347
The conclusion from the controlled study?
"Alcohol intake increases HDL-C in a dose-dependent fashion, associated with and possibly caused by an increase in the TR of HDL apolipoproteins apoA-I and -II."
Of course, this is different from the author's hypotheses about socializing and loneliness, something much harder to test.
Really? Really? I don't believe it. I'd like to look more closely at the data that supports this. And it depends on the definition of "heavy" drinking. If it's a regular one glass a day, sure. If it's a bottle a gin a couple of times a week I would beg to differ.
Alcohol is insanely destructive. Whilst no doubt this study is picking up on correlations between lifestyle characteristics which would explain these results, there's no doubt that booze is bad for you. It rots your brain, wrecks your liver, makes you depressed and makes you violent.
It's mental that for £20 I can pop into any off-licence, corner shop or supermarket in the land and buy enough alcohol to literally kill myself. It's a factor in 100s of thousands of deaths a year (UK) via heart disease, liver cirrhosis, car accidents or violence. It costs the NHS and police forces 10s of billions of pounds a year. It turns town-centres into virtual no-go areas on the weekend. It ruins lives.
Yet for some reason not only is it legal, it occupies a cherished position in our culture.
Edit: just to clarify, i'm not a prohibitionist. I think alcohol _should_ be legal. Personally I love booze and having a few. But our stance on alcohol versus our stance on other drugs (pot, coke etc) is just utterly illogical, non-sensical, even I would argue, immoral.
Summary: the author of the article speculates that moderate alcohol consumption leads people to socialize and not be lonely. People who are lonely are more likely to die from "just about everything." There's no actual study done here -- the author only references other studies. This article is about the author's hypothesis.
This article, similar to "The Web Is Dead", is about nothing more than link baiting. Wired has been going down hill as of late.
"But here’s the really weird data point: Heavy drinkers also live longer than abstainers." Really? Really? I don't believe it. I'd like to look more closely at the data that supports this. And it depends on the definition of "heavy" drinking. If it's a regular one glass a day, sure. If it's a bottle a gin a couple of times a week I would beg to differ. Alcohol is insanely destructive. Whilst no doubt this study is pi…
Correlation does not strictly mean causation. Our statistics professor brought this example once, he explained it that people who don't drink (in a western society) have often problems with their health or are taking medication. Statistics could be often misleading. Another example was that people with bigger feet were more likely to be earn more money. Guess why?
Correlation does not strictly mean causation. Our statistics professor brought this example once, he explained it that people who don't drink (in a western society) have often problems with their health or are taking medication. Statistics could be often misleading. Another example was that people with bigger feet were more likely to be earn more money. Guess why?
While true, it's not just correlation that alcohol may be good for you. There's growing evidence that, among other things, alcohol boosts your HDL (good) cholesterol. For one controlled study see: http://circ.ahajournals.org/cgi/content/full/102/19/2347 The conclusion from the controlled study? "Alcohol intake increases HDL-C in a dose-dependent fashion, associated with and possibly caused by an increase in the TR of…
EtOH -> higher HDL -> increased reverse cholesterol transport (or another HDL function) -> reduced risk of cardiovascular disease.
But there is a problem here. While higher HDL epidemiologically correlates with reduced CVD, the only clinical trial of a drug that purely raises HDL showed increased mortality. Now, the trial was complicated by off-target effects of the drug, but my point is that we actually do not know if raising "good" cholesterol is good!
Correlation does not strictly mean causation. Our statistics professor brought this example once, he explained it that people who don't drink (in a western society) have often problems with their health or are taking medication. Statistics could be often misleading. Another example was that people with bigger feet were more likely to be earn more money. Guess why?
Correlation does not strictly mean causation. Our statistics professor brought this example once, he explained it that people who don't drink (in a western society) have often problems with their health or are taking medication. Statistics could be often misleading. Another example was that people with bigger feet were more likely to be earn more money. Guess why?
Because men earn more money and tend to have bigger feet than women?