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Low alcohol intake wards off dementia
Study also shows heavy drinking can bring on dementia in some
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Published: July 13, 2009
A small amount of alcohol may help lower the risk of dementia in older adults, according to a study by researchers at Wake Forest University School of Medicine.
The study also found that for older adults who have mild cognitive issues, any amount of alcohol consumption "was associated with faster rates of cognitive decline."
And heavy drinkers with mild cognitive issues were found to be nearly twice as likely to develop dementia compared with abstainers with similar issues.
Dr. Kaycee Sink, a geriatrician at the medical school, presented the study today at the Alzheimer's Association 2009 International Conference in Vienna, Austria.
Sink's report is the latest in a string of prominent studies focused on alcohol consumption by middle-age and older adults.
"As of yet, we still have no cure for Alzheimer's disease and other dementias, so it is important to look for things that might help people prevent the disease," Sink said.
"Moderate alcohol intake has been linked to lower risk of heart attacks, stroke, dementia and death in middle-aged adults, but there is still controversy about alcohol intake in older adults."
The medical school cites Sink's study as the largest and longest in the United States regarding the effects of regular alcohol intake on dementia in seniors, both with and without memory problems.
The study involved 3,069 participants ages 75 and older, including about 1,000 in the Triad. They were examined and interviewed every six months over a six-year period to determine changes in their memory or thinking abilities, and to monitor who developed dementia.
The participants were placed into one of four categories related to their alcohol consumption. There were abstainers, light drinkers (one to seven drinks a week), moderate drinkers (eight to 14 drinks a week) and heavy drinkers (more than 14 a week). Sink said that the study defined a drink as eight ounces of beer, four ounces of wine and 1½ ounces of liquor.
What the researchers found is that for moderate drinkers who had no sign of cognitive problems when the study began, they had an average 37 percent reduction in risk of developing dementia compared with abstainers. The type of alcohol consumed didn't matter.
The researchers said their study supported current nutritional recommendations of not exceeding a daily amount of one drink for women and two for men.
Another study, published this month in the American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, studied alcohol consumption as a potential risk factor for dementia and cognitive decline.
"Our results suggest that alcohol drinkers in late life have reduced risk of dementia," said researchers with the Centre for Mental Health Research at Australian National University. They said that it was unclear whether the benefit comes from "the protective effect of alcohol consumption throughout adulthood, or a specific benefit of alcohol in late life."
The subject of alcohol and dementia also was discussed in a May 2007 article in Time.
The reporter, Laura Blue, said that "common sense and your own personal experience might explain just as much of the association between drinking and delayed mental decay as can be explained by neurology."
"Seventy-year-olds who have a regular glass of wine, for example, might well be moderate drinkers precisely because they are still physically fit, eat reasonably well, are in good enough health that don't take serious medications that prevent them from drinking, and lead active social lives -- all factors that, like moderate drinking, have been linked to staying mentally sharp."
Wake researchers cautioned that their study did not provide clarity as to whether an abstainer who begins drinking moderately in his or her 70s would experience the same benefit as the moderate drinker.
It also could not be determined whether the benefit is associated with a long pattern of moderate alcohol intake that continues on into old age.
"Our results suggest that older adults who are normal cognitively and drink moderately do not need to change their drinking behavior," Sink said. "If you have mild cognitive impairment, however, it might benefit you to restrict your drinking" to recommended amounts.
"Without scientific data showing that it is beneficial, I wouldn't recommend that nondrinkers start drinking in their 70s," Sink said. "I also would talk with your doctor about your overall health since alcohol could make other conditions worse if started or increased."
■ Richard Craver can be reached at 727-7376 or at rcraver@wsjournal.com.
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