More on Alchohol and Cognition

Let’s face it, those who, like BrooklynDodger, follow the literature on alcohol aren’t that much concerned with what the investigators call “moderate” consumption – one drink a day or maybe two. We have friends who drink a bit more than that [you know how someone goes to a doctor’s office and asks about their “friends’” problems?]

The Dodger figures that the life-prolonging value of moderate drinking – compared to not drinking at all - is a settled question. The evidence for moderate drinking preserving cognition is solid as well, although the recent studies are of women.

Now comes an account of effects of more booze and including guys. The study investigated the relation between alcohol consumption and cognitive function in 4,272 men and 1,761 women. Of people who reported drinking alcohol in the past year, those who consumed at least one drink in the past week, compared with those who did not, were significantly less likely to have poor cognitive function. The beneficial effect extended to those drinking more than 240 g per week (approximately 30 drinks). The effect was stronger for women than men and was not confined to those with evidence of vascular disease. The authors concluded that for middle-aged subjects, increasing levels of alcohol consumption were associated with better function regarding some aspects of cognition.

Four drinks a day is finally a respectable amount.

BrooklynDodger notes that the Whitehall study, covering British public employees, is among the premier data bases in the world regarding class and health status.

A second study was of 4,461 community-dwelling women aged 65-79 years. Compared with no intake, intake of >/=1 drink per day was associated with higher baseline cognition scores and an adjusted odds ratio of 0.40 for significant declines in cognitive function. [Lower risk is better.] Associations with incident probable dementia and mild cognitive impairment were of similar magnitude. Associations with intakes of <1 href="http://aje.oupjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/160/3/240">Alcohol Consumption and Cognitive Function in the Whitehall II Study

Annie Britton, Archana Singh-Manoux, and Michael Marmot
From the International Centre for Health and Society, Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University College
London, London, United Kingdom.
Received for publication June 26, 2003; accepted for publication February 27, 2004.



The authors investigated the relation between alcohol consumption and cognitive function in a United Kingdom cohort study (4,272 men, 1,761 women) with median follow-up of 11 years. Measures of alcohol consumption were obtained at baseline (1985–1988) and four subsequent phases of data collection. Cognitive function (memory test, AH4, Mill-Hill, phonemic and semantic fluency) was assessed at phase 5 (1997–1999), when participants were aged 46–68 years. Of people who reported drinking alcohol in the past year, those who consumed at least one drink in the past week, compared with those who did not, were significantly less likely to have poor cognitive function. The beneficial effect extended to those drinking more than 240 g per week (approximately 30 drinks). The effect was stronger for women than men and was not confined to those with evidence of vascular disease. Similar associations were found in cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses. The relations were not explained by confounding by smoking and by physical and mental health and, to a large extent, were not mediated by cholesterol or blood pressure. However, the relations were weakened when social position was added to the model. The authors concluded that for middle-aged subjects, increasing levels of alcohol consumption were associated with better function regarding some aspects of cognition. Nonetheless, it is not proposed that these findings be used to encourage increased alcohol consumption.


Am J Epidemiol. 2005 Feb 1;161(3):228-38.

Association between Reported Alcohol Intake and Cognition: Results from the Women's Health Initiative Memory Study.

Espeland MA, Gu L, Masaki KH, Langer RD, Coker LH, Stefanick ML, Ockene J, Rapp SR.


Department of Public Health Sciences, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC.

Some, but not all, observational studies have suggested that moderate levels of alcohol intake may be associated with improved cognitive function and reduced risk of cognitive decline and dementia. The authors of this 1996-2002 study used data from the Women's Health Initiative Memory Study of postmenopausal combination hormone therapy to assess cross-sectional and prospective associations of self-reported alcohol intake with cognitive function. Across 39 US academic medical centers, 4,461 community-dwelling women aged 65-79 years were followed an average of 4.2 years with annual Modified Mini-Mental State Examinations and standardized protocols for detecting mild cognitive impairment and probable dementia. Compared with no intake, intake of >/=1 drink per day was associated with higher baseline Modified Mini-Mental State Examination scores (p < 0.001) and a covariate-adjusted odds ratio of 0.40 (95% confidence interval: 0.28, 0.99) for significant declines in cognitive function. Associations with incident probable dementia and mild cognitive impairment were of similar magnitude but were not statistically significant after covariate adjustment. Associations with intakes of <1 drink per day were intermediate. Moderate levels of alcohol intake may be associated with better cognition and reduced risk of significant cognitive decline; however, confounding associations with unmeasured factors cannot be ruled out.


Effects of Moderate Alcohol Consumption on Cognitive Function in Women

N Engl J Med 2005;352:245-53.