Because unmeasured confounders may be different between current drinkers and non-drinkers, non-drinkers were evaluated separately and were found to have increased risk of mortality relative to current drinkers who drink 1–2 drinks per occasion and never binge. In the NHIS data, increased risk for all-cause mortality was seen in never-drinkers (HR=1.24, p<0.0001) and in former drinkers (HR=1.14, p<0.0001) relative to drinking 1–2 drinks 3.2 times weekly. In the VA dataset, increased risk for all-cause mortality was seen in non-drinkers (HR=1.29, p<0.0001), relative to drinking 1–2 drinks 2–3 times weekly. There was no variable in the VA data to distinguish between never drinkers and former drinkers.
