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Alcohol consumption and social problems combined will increase the risk of death according to the results of a recent study performed at the University of Colorado, Boulder. The research for the study included around 40,000 people and it showed that those participants who had been targeted for an intervention were 67% more likely to die during the 18 year time span that the research covered. The participants who started to distance themselves from sports and other social activities due to alcohol use had a risk of dying that was 46% higher than those who used the same amount of alcohol but who continued to engage in sports and other social activities. The study findings also showed that the social risks involved with alcohol abuse were just as strongly linked to mortality as the physiological consequences for this type of substance abuse, if not more so.

The study on alcohol consumption and social problems also had some surprises. One was that many people who classified themselves a slight drinkers had experienced problems with alcohol in the last year in spite of the way that they classified themselves. According to sociology professor and lead study author Dr. Richard Rogers “This was a little surprising to us. Overall, light drinking has been shown to be slightly beneficial from a health standpoint, and we didn’t think those people would run into too many overall problems.” Rogers continued by saying “What this study really shows is that researchers and policymakers need to look at the nuanced complexities tied to alcohol consumption. Alcohol consumption does not have a clear dose-response relationship like smoking, for instance. We have seen that alcohol does have a benefit at low levels in some cases, but it also can create social problems for some individuals who are only light to moderate drinkers.”