Heavy Drinking Is the Biggest Risk Factor for Dementia, Study Says

Hot on the heels of headlines linking alcohol consumption with longer life comes new research that casts a much more sobering light on drinking. According to an analysis of more than 1 million people—the largest study of its kind to date—scientists say that heavy alcohol use is the biggest modifiable risk factor for dementia, especially early-onset forms of the disease. The findings, which are published in The Lancet Public Health, came as a shock to the researchers involved. “We hypothesized that alcohol would play some role, but I don’t think anyone expected the size of the effect to be so large,” says lead author Dr. Jürgen Rehm, director of the University of Toronto’s Center for Addiction and Mental Health Institute for Mental Health Policy Research. There have been few studies examining the potential role of heavy alcohol consumption, Rehm says. Some research has suggested that a drink or two a day may have a protective effect on cognitive health—but other studies have linked drinking, even at moderate levels, to detrimental effects on brain structure. In a recent review by the Lancet Commission on Dementia Prevention, Intervention and Care, reducing alcohol consumption was not included as one of the nine lifestyle changes that may reduce the risk of dementia. To investigate the relationship further, Rehm and his colleagues analyzed hospital records of more than 1 million adults in France who were diagnosed with dementia b...
Source: TIME: Health - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized healthytime onetime Research Source Type: news