Controversy continues over the role of alcohol in preventing atherosclerosis and heart disease. Studies have shown that moderate drinkers have a significantly lower rate of heart attacks than do non-drinkers. However, some researchers have suggested that this may be due to the fact that some non-drinkers have stopped drinking due to ill health, thus biasing the non-drinking averages towards earlier death. A study was undertaken in which people who recently stopped drinking were evaluated independently of people who had abstained from alcohol for a long period. A total of 2,225 women and 1,845 men were included in the study. The women who more recently stopped drinking had a higher rate of all causes of death and a higher rate of heart disease than women who continued to drink. This difference was not entirely accounted for by health problems related to their abstinence. Men who stopped drinking had a higher rate of death and heart disease than men who continued to drink, but this was almost entirely related to health conditions related to abstinence. Men who abstained from alcohol consumption for long periods also had a higher death rate and heart disease rate than men who drank, but this was not explained on the basis of overall health differences among the groups. In the present research, the study population was divided into numerous groups, and so the number of deaths that occurred in some groups was sufficiently small that statistically reliable conclusions could not be drawn. This study, like others, found statistical evidence that moderate alcohol consumption may provide some protective effect. However, it also points out the potential problems of lumping all non-drinkers together, since some people who stopped drinking did so because of the strong negative impact of alcohol upon their health. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)