SCIENCE / MEDICINE : Heavy Beer Drinkers at Risk

A study at six Veterans Adminstration hospitals suggests that very heavy beer drinkers may face a higher risk of death from liver disease than people who abuse equivalent amounts of wine or hard liquor. The study said five-year survival rates from alcoholic hepatitis were 24% for people who consumed mostly beer, 45% for hard liquor and 58% for wine.

Dr. Charles Mendenhall, professor of medicine at Cincinnati Medical Center, submitted what he called preliminary research to liver disease specialists meeting in Chicago. He said it suggests that certain alcoholic beverages may be more hazardous to health than others.

Mendenhall emphasized that excessive alcohol intake of any type was dangerous.