Alcohol and Cognitive Performance

Source: Tufts University
September 7, 2000 (Reviewed: January 2, 2003)

Everyone knows that consuming too much alcohol can make it a challenge to walk in a straight line, let alone think straight. But a study in the American Journal of Public Health suggests that moderate alcohol consumption may help some men to stay mentally sharp as they get older.

Researchers from the National Institutes of Health assessed the alcohol consumption of 3556 middle-aged Japanese-American men in the early 1970s. Eighteen years later, the researchers reassessed the participants' drinking habits and then administered tests designed to evaluate their long- and short-term memory skills. The men, by then between 71 to 93 years old, who routinely drank up to one alcoholic beverage per day did better on the memory tests than those who did not consume alcohol. On the other hand, those who drank more than one drink per day scored progressively worse on the memory tests. Those who consumed four or more drinks a day turned in the worst test scores.

How can alcohol help preserve cognitive function in the elderly? The researchers suggest that moderate alcohol intake may benefit the brain in the same manner that it benefits heart health--by increasing "good" HDL cholesterol and reducing blood clotting factors. These actions help keep blood vessels healthy and insure an adequate blood supply to the brain. The authors of the study also point out that people who consume about one drink per day are likely "social drinkers," meaning that they are engaged in social and intellectual activities that require them to be alert and thinking. That might help to keep them in better cognitive shape as they get older.

There have been a limited number of studies on alcohol consumption and mental function in the elderly, with some results similar to the current study and others showing no relationship. One strength of the current study is that it involved a large number of people who were followed for almost two decades, giving researchers a clear picture of their long-term drinking habits and health status.

Still, readers should view the results with caution. All of the study participants were of Japanese ancestry, and the findings may not apply to people of all ethnic backgrounds. People of European ancestry, for instance, have different patterns of dementia as they age and are more likely than those of other ethnic backgrounds to develop Alzheimer's disease. The study focused on men, and whether the benefit would extend to women is a question that remains to be answered. And, while moderate consumption of alcohol does appear to have some health benefits for some people, the steady consumption of alcohol can be hazardous to elderly people who have chronic health problems or who take multiple medications.

Source

• A longitudinal study of drinking and cognitive performance in elderly Japanese American men: the Honolulu-Asia Aging Study. D. Galanis,  et al., American Journal of Public Health, 2000, vol. 90, pp. 1254--1259

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