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SCIENTIFIC RESEARCHalcohol and mind 29/05/2006 Moderate drinking delays mental deterioration 
Ageing is often accompanied with a gradual loss of the cognitive functions. Sensible alcohol consumption can delay this process. This emerges from a large-scale American study into the connection between drinking and mental decay. The study was part of research into dementia in a rural district of Pennsylvania, and involved 1 277 persons of 65 years or more, 61% of whom were women not staying in rest homes for elderly persons. The researchers examined the participants every two years over a period of 7 years. They collected information concerning drinking habits and cognitive functions. The highly detailed questions related to alcohol consumption during the whole life, the regularity of drinking and the number of glasses drunk per session. The cognitive functions were measured by a whole battery of tests to assess the short-term and the long-term memory.There were practically no heavy drinkers in the test group, from which the participants were subdivided into sub-groups: the total abstainers, persons with a minimum drink consumption (once a month or less), and the moderate drinkers (daily to weekly on average). The researchers discovered several differences between the groups. As the most significant result they found that minimum or moderate alcohol consumption was associated with a lower degree of mental deterioration in important cognitive tests compared with that for the group of total abstainers. When looking at the results account was also taken of the possible influence of other factors, such as smoking, depression and general mental condition. However, the researchers noted that “our data cannot be interpreted as an encouragement to start drinking or to carry on drinking. Any such encouragement must be considered on a case by case basis in the light of the relation between risks and benefits. Nevertheless, together with the studies showing low mortality figures and potential benefits of light to moderate drinking for cardiovascular diseases, our figures give increasing indications for the reduction of the risk of dementia among older persons who drink only little or in moderation”. The Quarterly Review of Alcohol Research. Volume I4, No. 1, Spring 2006 | |
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