A team led by Charles Holahan, a psychologist at the University of Texas found that those who did not consume any alcohol appeared to have a higher mortality rate, regardless of whether they were former heavy drinkers or not, than those who drank heavily, the Independent reported.
The researchers, who followed 1,824 participants over two decades, revealed that ‘moderate’ drinking, which is defined as one to three drinks per day, was associated with the lowest mortality rate.
These results came even after the team controlled variables such as socio-demographic factors, health and social-behavioral factors.
The study is published in the journal Alcoholism.