Smart people drink more alcohol

Cheer! The next time you feel tempted to enjoy an extra glass of wine, consider it as a reflection of your intelligence, says a new study.

In the National Child Development Study in the UK and the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health in the US, childhood intelligence was measured before the age of 16.

It was categorized in five cognitive classes, ranging from 'very dull,' 'dull,' 'normal,' 'bright' and 'very bright.'

The Americans were revisited seven years later. The British youths, on the other hand, were followed in their 20s, 30s and 40s, reports Discovery News.

Researchers measured their drinking habits as the participants became older.

More intelligent children in both studies grew up to drink alcohol more frequently and in greater quantities than less intelligent children.

In the Brits'' case, 'very bright' children grew up to consume nearly eight-tenths of a standard deviation more alcohol than their "very dull" cohorts.

Researchers controlled for demographic variables-such as marital status, parents'' education, earnings, childhood social class and more-that may have also affected adult drinking.

The journal Psychology Today argued that although increased alcohol consumption could be a reflection of exceptional brainpower, drinking more will certainly not make you any more intelligent than you already are.