Non-Drinkers With 'High Morals' May Have Lower Risk Of Mortality, Study Says

There may be truth to the phrase "have one more drink...it won't kill you."

Research has found that non-drinkers have a higher mortality risk than light drinkers, but insight into the research has found that it may not be as clear cut as that. It may matter why you choose not to drink, according to the Denver Post.

New studies from the University of Colorado at Boulder have shown that light drinkers have less of a risk of mortality than those who do not, supposedly becuase non-drinkers don't like the taste of alcohol. But researchers say that this may be because light alcohol consumption can help fight disease and lower stress, according to News Medical.

However, those who abstained from drinking because of religious and moral reasons had about the same risk of mortality of those who drank lightly. This may mean alcohol is not as healthy as many like to believe, said sociology Professor Richard Rogers, director of CU-Boulder's Population Program in the Institute of Behavioral Science, to News Medical.

"So this idea that non-drinkers always have higher mortality than light drinkers isn't true," Rogers said. "You can find some groups of non-drinkers who have similar mortality risks to light drinkers."

However, one thing was apparent from the study; those who continue to drink heavily had a much higher mortality risk. People who drink from two and three drinks per day have a 49 percent higher mortality than light drinkers and people who consume more than three drinks per day had a 58 percent higher mortality risk compared to light drinkers, according to the Denver Post.

Former drinkers, however, had the highest mortality risk of all non-drinkers; they had a 38 percent higher mortality risk than light drinkers.