Is there any evidence to link alcohol consumption and dementia?
- One unit of alcohol is less than a pint of beer or lager, or a glass of wine.
- More than one unit of alcohol is enough to poison the brain and increase the risk of dementia.
- The current guidance level in the UK is an upper limit of 16g of alcohol per day.
Recent research suggests that we are at risk of dementia and other mental or neurodegenerative diseases coupled with other long-term health issues, if we consume at least one unit of alcohol every day. The age-group of most concern are the middle-aged. For many of us, a glass of wine at dinner is a necessity. About three in five of us drink alcohol to deal with the hectic pressures of day-to-day life.
The key quote from the published paper about drinking one unit of alcohol per day on mental capabilities is:-
“…may have an adverse cognitive impact”.
The quote that is grabbing headlines is:-
Just ONE pint a day ‘poisons your brain and increases your risk of dementia’
It has been a long known policy that the UK government is requesting people limit their drinking to one unit of alcohol per day to reduce a number of health risks. The latest research is highlighting the poisonous effects of alcohol but not everyone agrees with the research, and some have labelled or even rubbished the published research as “absolutely bonkers”.
One of the motives for the research was the fact that Alzheimer’s Disease and dementia have replaced coronary heart disease (CHD) as the leading cause of death in England and Wales. Globally, death from various neurological disease are rising too and whilst age is a major factor, lifestyle and diet are also know to play their part. Alcohol is a well known factor in certain diseases but by how much it affects the risk of developing neurological diseases is not fully understood.
Researchers wanted to explore the effects of alcohol on the problem. This has been considered particularly relevant as we have an ageing population placing increasing demands on the health service. Could there be a link between alcohol consumption and dementia and other neurological conditions?
The researchers found 10g of alcohol daily was a “more appropriate upper limit to preserve cognitive performance”. The current UK guideline is 16g.
Professor Simon Moore, one of the lead authors is quoted:-
“If you are looking to buy a second hand car you will want to know as much about it as possible before making your purchase. The same should be true for alcohol.”
“We cannot hide the fact evidence is accumulating showing that it does a lot more damage to health than we previously thought.
“If people want a happy future, they need to know the facts about alcohol before deciding how much to drink.”
Current advice from the government on drinking is that two units a day are within ‘low risk’ guidelines. Two units are equivalent to a glass of wine or a pint of beer for men and women. The guidance was changed last year based on new research. This research showed that the benefits from moderate drinking for heart health were not as strong as previously thought. The risks of developing certain forms of cancer associated with alcohol were underestimated.
The paper also states:-
“Consuming more than one UK standard unit of alcohol per day is detrimental to cognitive performance and is more pronounced in older populations.
“UK guidelines are that drinkers should not consume more than 16 grams of alcohol a day.
“Our findings are of particular relevance to older individuals who demonstrated a greater rate of decline if alcohol consumption increased.”
The paper recommends that the UK Department of Health guidance “should be sensitive to this”. The research is published in the Journal of Public Health. Alcohol Research UK and the Medical Research Council partly funded the study.
The Study
Researchers from the University Of Oxford assessed the mental capacities of 13,342 people who were aged between 40 and 72 years old between 2006 and 2010, and alcohol drinkers. A lot of statistical information was collated from UK Biobank which is a database of health records of middle-aged and older adults. The researchers assessed the participants’ level of alcohol consumption using questionnaires and interviews.
Those people who drank alcohol at least once a week or more frequently were chosen and given reaction time tests over a period of four years. Enough evidence was collected to show that some parts of the brain responsible for thought processes (i.e. cognitive functions) were more susceptible to damage by alcohol.
A couple of issues relate to the truthfulness and accuracy of reporting such data given that there is a tendency for people to overestimate their levels of consumption in which ever sphere they are being assessed. Even taking these potential errors into account the finding suggest the need for more research into potential links between alcohol consumption and dementia.
Conclusions
Such research often grabs the headlines, but there may need to be a serious rethink about what are acceptable and safe levels of alcohol for drinking. It should mean a realisation that drinking alcohol comes at a much more severe price than was originally thought possible. This comes in the light of evidence surrounding increased risks of dementia and other health problems.
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