Moderate Drinking Especially Wine Results in
Better Cognitive Function in Senior Citizens
Women did best on testing if they consumed at least 4
or more in two weeks; worst performers drank none
Aug. 18, 2010 A very large study involving
thousands of senior citizens reports, as have so many other studies,
that moderate wine consumption results in better cognitive performance.
And, this research indicates the highest risk of poor cognitive
functioning tended to be among teetotalers.
This large prospective study of 5033 men and women
in the Tromso Study in northern Norway says that moderate drinking of
wine is associated with better performance on cognitive tests. The
subjects - average age of 58 in the beginning - were followed over 7
years, when the average reached age 65, during which they were tested
with a range of cognitive function tests.
Among these senior women, there was a lower risk of a poor
testing score for those who consumed wine at least 4 or more times over
two weeks in comparison with those who drink did not drink during this
period.
The expected associations between other risk
factors for poor cognitive functioning were seen, i.e. lower testing
scores resulted among people who were older, less educated, smokers, and
those with depression, diabetes, or hypertension.
It has long been known that "moderate people do
moderate things." The authors state the same thing: "A positive effect
of wine could also be due to confounders such as socio-economic status
and more favorable dietary and other lifestyle habits.
The authors also reported that not drinking was
associated with significantly lower cognitive performance in women. As
noted by the authors, in any observational study there is the
possibility of other lifestyle habits affecting cognitive function, and
the present study was not able to adjust for certain ones (such as diet,
income, or profession) but did adjust for age, education, weight,
depression, and cardiovascular disease as its major risk factors.
Among these older men, some test results suggest less cognitive
dysfunction for consumers of wine and beer, although the clear
dose-response pattern seen among women was not present for men. Since
only the frequency of consumption, not the amount of alcohol consumed
per day, was recorded, these differences by gender could relate to
differing levels of drinking or other confounders.
Sixty-eight studies of 145,303 people confirm
positive impact of alcohol on mental ability
The results of this study support findings from
previous research on the topic: In the last three decades, the
association between moderate alcohol intake and cognitive function has
been investigated in 68 studies comprising 145,308 men and women from
various populations with various drinking patterns.
Most studies show an association between light to
moderate alcohol consumption and better cognitive function and reduced
risk of dementia, including both vascular dementia and Alzheimer's
Disease.
Such effects could relate to the presence in wine
of a number of polyphenols (antioxidants) and other micro elements that
may help reduce the risk of cognitive decline with ageing. Mechanisms
that have been suggested for alcohol itself being protective against
cognitive decline include effects on atherosclerosis (hardening of the
arteries), coagulation ( thickening of the blood and clotting), and
reducing inflammation (of artery walls, improving blood flow).
Other alcoholic drinks?
In many earlier studies a protective effect against
cognitive decline was found in association with a moderate consumption
of red wine, but less so with other beverages. One reason wine is
successful in maintaining mental abilities may be that wine drinkers
have better dietary habits than beer and liquor drinkers. Two other
studies from Denmark have concluded that wine drinking is associated
with a healthy diet.
Links to
More Reports in SeniorJournal.com Archives on Alcohol Consumption
Aug. 18, 2010 A very large study involving
thousands of senior citizens reports, as have so many other studies,
that moderate wine consumption results in better cognitive performance.
And, this research indicates the highest risk of poor cognitive
functioning tended to be among teetotalers.
The results of this study support findings from
previous research on the topic: In the last three decades, the
association between moderate alcohol intake and cognitive function has
been investigated in 68 studies comprising 145,308 men and women from
various populations with various drinking patterns. 
Two percent lower lung cancer risk with each glass of
red wine consumed per month