A DAILY TIPPLE CUTS DEMENTIA RISK FOR HEALTHY ELDERLY

One or two alcoholic beverages a day may reduce an elderly person’s risk of developing dementia by almost 40 percent, a study presented at the recent International Conference on Alzheimer’s Disease in Vienna found (ICAD).

The results show people aged 75 years and older reap the same benefits from alcohol as their middle-aged counterparts, the researchers said. They asked more than 3,000 adults how often they drank and examined them every six months for up to six years for signs of memory loss or mental decline.

The findings aren’t a free pass for drinking among the elderly, the results showed. People who were already showing signs of memory problems deteriorated significantly faster if they drank alcohol, and the more they consumed the worse the symptoms became. Heavy drinkers, defined as those consuming more than 14 drinks a week, were almost twice as likely to develop dementia, researchers said.

“If you’re already drinking, you don’t need to cut back if you’re cognitively healthy, but we don’t have enough information to recommend you start drinking,” Kaycee Sink, Assistant Professor of Medicine at Wake Forest University School of Medicine in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, said during a press conference. “The benefits increase as people move from mild to moderate levels of drinking, and then start to decline.”

Range of Benefits:

Alcohol has a range of benefits, such as boosting good cholesterol, preventing blood platelets from clotting and prompting the production of chemicals that help memory, Sink said. When older people show signs of dementia, the benefits may be outweighed by the toxic effects of drinking, she said, emphasizing that the theory is unproven. Heavy drinking is associated with a range of problems, including smaller brain volumes and vitamin deficiencies, she said.

The study divided the group into four categories: those who abstained, light drinkers who had one to seven beverages a week, moderate drinkers at eight to 14 weekly drinks and heavy consumers who had more than 14 every week.

The participants had an average age of almost 80 years and most, 43 percent, didn’t drink at all. One-third took a drink a few times a week, while the rest were moderate or heavy drinkers.

The moderate drinkers were most likely to benefit from their alcohol habits, with the risk of developing dementia lowered by 37 percent, according to the study.

“It’s a nuanced message, and we need to take some care with that, especially given the large number of people with mild cognitive impairment that remain undiagnosed,” William Thies, Chief Medical and Scientific Officer of the Alzheimer’s Association, said in an interview. “Still, people are comforted by the fact that a drink or two a day is ok.”

(Source: Bloomberg, July 13, 2009)