New Research Reveals That Couples Who Drink Together Live Longer

The couple that drinks together might live longer together, too, says a University of Michigan researcher.

In a recent study published in The Gerontologist, Kira Birditt, a research professor at the U-M Institute for Social Research’s Survey Research Center, found that couples who are concordant in their drinking behavior (that is, both members drink alcohol) tend to live longer.

She says a theory in alcohol literature called “the drinking partnership,” where couples who have similar patterns of alcohol use tend to have better marital outcomes (such as less conflict and longer marriages), was the inspiration behind the study.