October 24, 2024, 9:06 am | Read time: 4 minutes
The risk of dementia increases with age, but a large number of studies have shown that, in addition to age, certain lifestyle factors can also promote the disease. For example, diet and alcohol consumption can play a role. The latest studies show that the amount of alcohol consumed can increase the risk of dementia.
Scientists agree that a high level of alcohol consumption is harmful. But not when it comes to the effect of moderate to low consumption – this is where opinions differ. Some studies provide evidence that an occasional glass of wine, for example, can be beneficial to health and reduce the risk of dementia due to the flavonoids it contains. However, new studies show that this is not always the case – small amounts of alcohol can actually increase the risk of dementia.
Overview
Data from over 300,000 participants
The study was based on data from 500,000 participants from the UK Biobank.1 All participants were recruited between 2006 and 2010 from 22 research centers in the UK and provided socio-demographic, clinical, genetic, and lifestyle data. They also provided information about their alcohol consumption using a detailed questionnaire. Only people who regularly consumed alcohol and did not already have dementia were selected. This resulted in a study cohort of 313,958 participants.
Measurement of alcohol consumption
The questionnaire was used to determine the weekly or monthly drinking behavior of various alcoholic beverages with different weightings:
- One glass of wine: 1.5 units/week
- A glass of champagne with wine: 1.5 units/week
- One glass of beer: 2.8 units/week
- A small glass of spirits: 1 unit/week
- A small glass of liqueur: 1 unit/week
This was used to determine total weekly consumption. If only monthly data was provided, the total number was divided by 4.3 to calculate a representative weekly drinking pattern.
Development of dementia
The participants were followed up until 2021 and analyzed to determine whether any dementia diagnoses were identified. Based on this, the researchers used a proven statistical analysis method to assess the relationship between the risk factor (alcohol) and the health outcome (dementia).
In a further analysis, the scientists also took a closer look at the genetic data of the participants. More precisely, the presence of certain single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). These are associated with a tendency to consume alcohol. These values were also correlated with the occurrence of dementia.
Small amounts of alcohol can increase the risk of dementia
The average drinking behavior of the more than 300,000 study participants was 13.6 units per week. To put this into perspective, the recommended limit in the UK is 14 units/week, so the average falls just below this. Contrary to the previous assumption that low alcohol consumption has no influence on the risk of dementia, the research team found that there is a linear relationship between alcohol consumption and the risk of dementia in both analyses. This means that even small amounts can influence the risk of the neurodegenerative disease.
The researchers attribute their results, which differ from the previous assumption that small amounts of alcohol can protect against dementia, to the fact that previous studies also included people living in abstinence – the so-called “abstinence bias”. This is because people who do not consume alcohol may include people with a long-term illness. And different lifestyles can also contribute to a distortion. “Moderate drinkers might apply the principles of moderation in other areas of life and lead healthier lives than others, whereas abstinence might indicate a withdrawal from leisure activities that do not contribute to the prevention of cognitive decline,” write the study authors.
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Evaluating the study
As the present study only focused on people with low to frequent drinking behavior and thus avoids the risk of a possible distortion of results due to the “abstainer bias”, it provides plausible evidence that even small amounts of alcohol can increase the risk of dementia.
Nevertheless, the analyses have weaknesses that should be examined more closely in terms of credibility. Firstly, the study is based on subjective information about the participants’ drinking behavior and may therefore be inaccurate. Secondly, the studies only relate to United Kingdom residents; therefore, the results may not be generalizable to other ethnic groups.