Past studies have implicated alcohol in mitigating the risk of developing Alzheimer’s in middle aged individuals.  Now comes a new study, one of the longest and largest of its kind, demonstrating that moderate alcohol intake by the elderly is associated with a significant reduction in the risk of developing Alzheimer’s.  The results of the study were presented at the Alzheimer’s Association conference in Vienna, Austria in July.

The study followed 3,069 people of the age of 75 or older for a six year period.  Researchers found that people who consumed 8-14 drinks of alcohol per week were 37% less likely to develop dementia, compared with those who obstained.  The classification of alcohol (i.e., wine, hard spirits or beer) was irrelevant.  To place this benefit into context, the reduction in risk is similar to that found in adults exercising three times per week according to a geriatrician from Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center.

However, with the onset of even mild mental cognitive impairment, consuming alcohol seems to accelerate the rate of mental decline.  This indicates that there may be a limit to the benefits of alcohol intake in middle aged or elderly patients.  To further emphasize that point, scientists noted that consuming more than 14 drinks per week in patients with mild cognitive impairment almost doubled the risk of developing dementia.  It is known that alcohol can be toxic to brain cells and moderate alcohol intake can lead to a reduction in brain size.  It is possible that alcohol intake in conjunction with prior mental impairment (and possible brain cell compromise) may exacerbate the already existing damage at the cellular level, something that future research will hopefully answer.  Future research will also likely focus upon the role of phenols, an antioxidant which contains the compound resveratrol, amongst others.

As with so many of the studies examining the association between alcohol intake and health benefits, this one did not account for all of the effects of lifestyle on the results.  The researchers did attempt to factor in level of education, social activity, depression and cardiovascular disease but it is still unresolved as to whether any or all of these have a role in the reduction of risk in developing dementia in the moderate alcohol category.  All of the studies examining the relationship are observational and not truly causal in nature so the verdict is still out.

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Tags: alcohol, Alzheimer's, antioxidant, Resveratrol