study detects risks based on the amount drunk

According to a new study the light consumption o moderate Of alcohol is associated with a reduced risk of Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementialies theheavy intake leads to an increase in this risk. In other words, who drinks the classic glass of red wine at the table (125 millilitres) would have a sort of shield against the neurodegenerative pathology; on the other hand, those who consume three or more glasses of red wine – or maybe do binge drinking Of spirits – are more likely to develop dementia, a condition that currently affects around 60 million people worldwide but will affect many more over 150 million by 2050, according to forecasts. According to the results of the new research, light or moderate alcohol consumption may be more “protective” against Alzheimer’s than being abstainersbut scientists do not recommend at all to those who don’t drink to start doing it to “defend themselves” from dementia. However significant, in fact, it was one cohort study without evidence of cause effectwhich will have to emerge with more in-depth analyses.

The investigation was conducted by an international research team led by scientists from the Cha Gumi Medical Center of Cha University (South Korea), who collaborated closely with colleagues from the Department of Statistics and Actuarial Sciences of Soongsil University , the Department of Family Medicine of Seoul National University, the Center for Economic & Social Research of the University of Southern California (USA) and other institutes. The scientists, coordinated by Professor Keun Hye Jeon, professor at the Department of Family Medicine of Gumi University, reached their conclusions after conducting a retrospective cohort study on the data of about 4 million Korean citizens, all registered with the National Health Insurance Service (NIHS). Participants, aged 40 years or older (mean age 55 years), underwent a medical exams in 2009 and 2011 and subsequently followed up for a mean follow-up period of 6.3 years, ending December 31, 2018. Data were statistically analyzed in 2021.

A participants were subjected questionnaires to evaluate lifestyle, physical activity, smoking and alcohol addiction, collect demographic data (gender and age) and so on. Based on the amount of alcohol consumed they were divided into various groups: abstainers (0 grams per day); mild drinkers (less than 15 grams of alcohol per day, equal to the classic glass of wine at lunch); moderate drinkers (15 – 29.9 grams of alcohol per day); and heavy, with more than 30 grams of alcohol consumed daily. The researchers not only took into account the participants’ drinking habits, but also how much they changed over time. For example, they assessed whether a heavy drinker decided at some point to stop drinking or drink lightly. Professor Hye Jeon and colleagues have associated alcohol consumption with the onset of various forms of dementia, such as Alzheimer’s and vascular dementia. “By measuring alcohol consumption over two time points, we were able to study the relationship between reduction, cessation, maintenance, and increase in alcohol consumption and incident dementia,” Professor Hye Jeon told CNN.

Over 100,000 cases of all-cause dementia, approximately 80,000 of Alzheimer’s disease – which is the world‘s most common form of dementia – and 11,000 cases of vascular dementia occurred during the follow-up period. By cross-referencing this data with other information from medical records and taking into account known risk factors such as a sedentary lifestyle, age, gender, smoking habit and others, the associations with alcohol consumption were determined. Statistical analysis showed that people who drank lightly (about one drink a day) had the 21 percent less likely to develop Alzheimer’s than abstainers; while moderate drinkers, with a couple of glasses of wine a day, had the 17 percent less likely to suffer from dementia. On the other hand, those who consumed 30 or more grams of alcohol per day (3 or more glasses of wine) had the8 percent more likely to develop neurodegenerative disease. Heavy drinkers who reduced their consumption to a moderate level over time lowered their risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease.8 percent.

These data suggest that moderate drinking may be protective against dementia, while heavy drinking and being teetotal may be associated with the risk of developing it. As indicated, however, it came to one observation study and there are no known cause-effect relationships, therefore the researchers absolutely do not recommend starting to drink to those who do not, given the association with many other pathologies (cardiovascular diseases, tumors and much more). Among other things a recent study published in the authoritative scientific journal The Lancet showed that there are no safe doses of alcohol under 40. In practice, young people should never drink. The details of the research “Changes in Alcohol Consumption and Risk of Dementia in a Nationwide Cohort in South Korea” have been published in the authoritative scientific journal JAMA Neurology.