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Science Regular low alcohol consumption can help prevent dementia
Especially younger people often go out on weekends to celebrate, dance and consume alcohol. Alcohol is actually associated with all sorts of negative effects on human health, but researchers have now found that regular moderate consumption of alcohol in older adults leads to a reduced risk of dementia or other cognitive impairment.
Researchers at the University of California, San Diego found in their study that moderate drinking on a regular basis means that people over the age of 85 are at lower risk for dementia or other cognitive impairment compared to non-alcoholics. The physicians published the results of their study in the journal "Journal of Alzheimer's Disease".
Many people like to drink a glass of wine from time to time. Physicians have now discovered that moderate regular alcohol consumption can protect the elderly from dementia. (Image: Rawpixel.com/fotolia.com) Alcohol consumption affects cognitive health in old age
Previous studies had already found a correlation between moderate alcohol consumption and longevity. But the current investigation was quite unique. She noted that alcohol consumption is not only associated with reduced mortality, but also influences the likelihood that people of advanced age remain cognitively healthy, explains author Prof. Dr. med. Linda McEvoy from the UC San Diego School of Medicine.
Effects of alcohol consumption in people over 85 years old
In particular, men and women over the age of 85 who consume moderate to higher levels of alcohol five to seven days a week are twice as likely to be cognitively healthy compared to non-drinkers, the experts explain. The cognitive health of the subjects was measured every four years over a period of 29 years. For this a standard dementia screening test was carried out.
Study used guidelines from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism
The alcohol consumption and age-related guidelines of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism were used to evaluate the amount of alcohol consumed. If people over the age of 65 years consumed at least one alcoholic beverage or a maximum of two alcoholic drinks a day, this was considered moderate alcohol consumption. When people over the age of 65 years ate three alcoholic drinks a day, it was considered heavy alcohol consumption. If the consumption of 4 alcoholic beverages a day, this was classified as excessive drinking, the researchers explain in a press release to their study results.
Only a few subjects had an excessive drinking behavior
There were few individuals with excessive drinking behavior in the study. Because of this, the study does not show the effects on longevity and cognitive health of excessive drinkers, the researchers explain. However, it is known that excessive alcohol consumption can cause alcohol-related dementia, the experts add.
Other factors could influence the result
The researchers also stated that the study's findings do not suggest that alcohol consumption is responsible for increased longevity and better cognitive health. Above all, the consumption of wine is also associated with higher income and better education. These factors are in turn associated with a lower rate of smokers as well as a lower rate of mental illness and better access to health care, say the authors of the study. The researchers therefore adapted the statistical analysis to factors such as smoking and obesity to remove these variables. Thus, the study is based only on statistical relationships between different demographic factors, behaviors and their health consequences, explain the scientists.
Physicians are investigating a total of 1,344 subjects of advanced age
A particular advantage of the study was that the data come from a relatively homogeneous population in a geographically well-defined area, the researchers explain. All of the participating 1,344 subjects (728 women and 616 men) were from Rancho Bernardo, a town in San Diego County. More than 99 percent of the study participants were Caucasian.
No call for alcohol consumption
The results of the study show that moderate drinking can be part of a healthy lifestyle to maintain cognitive fitness in aging, explains author Erin Richard. However, this should not be a recommendation for alcohol consumption for all people. Some people have health problems that are further worsened by alcohol. Other people simply can not confine themselves to one or two alcoholic drinks and for such people drinking can have particularly negative consequences, adds the expert. (As)