Devil in disguise: Does drinking lead to a disability pension?

• Alcohol consumption is a potential determinant of receiving a disability pension.
• We use twin data to account for family and genetic factors shared by identical twins.
• Heavy drinkers are substantially more likely to receive a disability pension.
• Drinking profiles are an important predictor of receiving a disability pension.

ObjectivesTo examine whether alcohol consumption in adulthood is related to the incidence of receiving a disability pension later in life.MethodsTwin data for Finnish men and women born before 1958 were matched to register-based individual information on disability pensions. Twin differences were used to eliminate both shared environmental and genetic factors. The quantity of alcohol consumption was measured as the weekly average consumption using self-reported data from three surveys (1975, 1981 and 1990). The disability pension data were evaluated from 1990–2004.ResultsThe models that account for shared environmental and genetic factors reveal that heavy drinkers are significantly more likely to receive a disability pension than moderate drinkers or constant abstainers. Heavy drinking that leads to passing out is also positively related to receiving a disability pension. The results were robust to the use of potential confounders that twins do not share, such as education years, the number of chronic diseases, physical activity at work and leisure, and stressful life events.ConclusionDrinking profiles in early adulthood are an important predictor of receiving a disability pension later in life.