Alcohol Responsible for 1 in Every 4 Cases of Dementia

Monday May 11, 2009 (foodconsumer.org) --  Two researchers in Great Britain are warning others of the effects of alcohol on the elderly. In the Journal of Alcohol and Alcoholism, Drs. Jane Marshall and Irene Guerrini report that one in four cases of dementia may be attributed to alcohol abuse.

Women are especially at risk, the researchers report; they metabolize alcohol differently from men, and are negatively affected by it sooner than men are.

While many studies have focused on the physical benefits and risk factors of drinking alcohol, the researchers contend that its brain wasting effects have not been taken seriously enough. Drs. Marshall and Guerrini are so concerned that they have written a letter to England’s Health Minister, Dawn Primarlo, urging her to place as much focus on brain issues resulting from alcoholism as there is on liver disease.

At first glance, this particular study seems to directly contradict information presented in the October 2008 issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association. Maria Pontes Ferreira, a post-doctoral fellow at Haskell Indian Nations University in Lawrence, KS, and her associate, M.K. Suzy Weems, maintain that the “big picture” must be taken into account. While they concur that heavy drinking can lead to dementia, moderate drinking has actually been associated with a reduced risk of both Alzheimer’s and vascular dementia.

The key, of course, is moderation. While up to three drinks a day can improve bone density and (surprisingly) reduce the risk of diabetes, overindulging can lead not only to dementia in older adults, but also to greater incidences of accidents, high blood pressure, and other health issues.

In December 2008, Jane Brody reported in her column that moderate drinkers fare better than both abstainers and heavy drinkers. Those who drink three drinks per day are less likely to suffer heart attacks and die prematurely than are either those who do not drink at all, or those who drink heavily.

By taking the advice of Dr. Ferreira and looking at the big picture, we can see that common sense is the order of the day when it comes to deciding how much alcohol is healthy versus detrimental. As with most things in life, the mantra “moderation in all things” seems applicable.

(By Rachel Stockton, and edited by Heather Kelley)