This Article  • Full text  • PDF  • Send to a friend  • Save in My Folder  • Save to citation manager  • Permissions  Citing Articles  • Citation map  • Citing articles on HighWire  • Citing articles on ISI (19)  • Contact me when this article is cited  Related Content  • Similar articles in JAMA

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

To the Editor: Prospective studies have shown that moderate alcohol drinkers have lower all-cause mortality than nondrinkers.¹ Subjects in the nondrinkers category generally comprise both never drinkers and ex-drinkers. Although ex-drinkers might have quit drinking due to ill health and have higher mortality than never drinkers, many studies fail to consider them separately.¹ We examined the effect of combining and separating the 2 groups on the relationship between moderate drinking and total mortality.

Methods

Subjects were 25 279 men aged 40 to 64 years who were residents of 14 municipalities in Miyagi Prefecture in northern Japan.² During June through August 1990, self-administered questionnaires were delivered to and collected at the subjects' residences. Usable questionnaires were returned from 22 836 subjects (90.3%). The questionnaire asked subjects if they were never, ex-, or current drinkers. Current drinkers were further asked about drinking frequency, beverage types usually consumed, and amount consumed on a single occasion. From . . . [Full Text of this Article]

THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES

Alcohol Drinking and Lung Cancer Risk: An Evaluation Based on a Systematic Review of Epidemiologic Evidence among the Japanese Population
Wakai et al.
Jpn J Clin Oncol 2007;37:168-174.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Alcohol Consumption and Risk of Stroke Among Middle-Aged Men: The JPHC Study Cohort I
Iso et al.
Stroke 2004;35:1124-1129.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Personality and the Risk of Cancer
Nakaya et al.
JNCI J Natl Cancer Inst 2003;95:799-805.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT