Study Alcohol can significantly reduce the risk of Alzheimer's death

Moderate alcohol consumption leads to a lower risk of death in early Alzheimer's disease
Alcohol consumption is generally considered to be harmful to health, but occasionally also positive effects of alcohol consumption have been demonstrated. For example, a 2009 study by researchers at Wake Forest University showed that moderate drinking can significantly reduce the risk of dementia. In a recent study, scientists from the University of Copenhagen have now found that moderate alcohol consumption dramatically reduces early-stage death from Alzheimer's disease.

The Danish researchers led by Sine Berntsen from the University of Copenhagen used the data from a total of 321 subjects from the Danish Alzheimer's Intervention Study (DAISY), in which numerous factors on the health of Alzheimer's patients from five different regions of Denmark over a period of four years were recorded. Accompanying the participants also gave information on their average daily alcohol consumption. In the analysis, Berntsen and colleagues found that moderate alcohol consumption was associated with a 77 percent reduction in the risk of death among Alzheimer's patients. The researchers published their results in the journal "BMJ Open".

Moderate alcohol consumption can significantly reduce the risk of Alzheimer's disease in the early stages. (Image: BillionPhotos.com/fotolia.com)

Number of drinks per day affecting the risk of death
The scientists divided the study participants into four different categories based on their alcohol consumption - no alcohol; one or less than a drink a day; two to three drinks a day; more than three drinks a day. As a drink, an alcohol amount of 12 grams or 15 milliliters of pure alcohol was defined. The study participants had to estimate their own consumption and a further subdivision after the recorded alcoholic drinks did not take place. According to the researchers, eight percent of the subjects were abstinent, 71 percent drank a maximum of one drink a day, 17 percent drink two to three drinks and four percent more than three drinks a day.

Danger of death reduced by 77 percent
The subsequent comparison of the determined alcohol consumption with the reported deaths in the Alzheimer's patients showed that the consumption of two to three alcoholic beverages per day was associated with a significantly reduced risk of death (77 percent compared to subjects with a maximum of one drink per day). On the other hand, the mortality rates of abstinent patients or those who drink more than three drinks per day are about as high as those with a maximum of one drink per day, reports Berntsen and colleagues. Further studies are needed to further analyze this relationship between alcohol consumption and the risk of death of Alzheimer's patients, the researchers concluded. (Fp)