Alcohol consumption and cognitive decline in early old age.
Authors
Sabia, Séverine
Elbaz, Alexis
Britton, Annie
Dugravot, Aline
Shipley, Martin
Kivimaki, Mika
Singh-Manoux, Archana
Publication Date
2014-01-28Journal Title
Neurology
ISSN
0028-3878
Publisher
Wolters Kluwer
Volume
82
Issue
4
Pages
332-339
Language
eng
Type
Article
This Version
VoR
Metadata
Show full item recordCitation
Sabia, S., Elbaz, A., Britton, A., Bell, S., Dugravot, A., Shipley, M., Kivimaki, M., & et al. (2014). Alcohol consumption and cognitive decline in early old age.. Neurology, 82 (4), 332-339. https://doi.org/10.1212/WNL.0000000000000063
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To examine the association between alcohol consumption in midlife and subsequent cognitive decline. METHODS: Data are from 5,054 men and 2,099 women from the Whitehall II cohort study with a mean age of 56 years (range 44-69 years) at first cognitive assessment. Alcohol consumption was assessed 3 times in the 10 years preceding the first cognitive assessment (1997-1999). Cognitive tests were repeated in 2002-2004 and 2007-2009. The cognitive test battery included 4 tests assessing memory and executive function; a global cognitive score summarized performances across these tests. Linear mixed models were used to assess the association between alcohol consumption and cognitive decline, expressed as z scores (mean = 0, SD = 1). RESULTS: In men, there were no differences in cognitive decline among alcohol abstainers, quitters, and light or moderate alcohol drinkers (<20 g/d). However, alcohol consumption ≥36 g/d was associated with faster decline in all cognitive domains compared with consumption between 0.1 and 19.9 g/d: mean difference (95% confidence interval) in 10-year decline in the global cognitive score = -0.10 (-0.16, -0.04), executive function = -0.06 (-0.12, 0.00), and memory = -0.16 (-0.26, -0.05). In women, compared with those drinking 0.1 to 9.9 g/d of alcohol, 10-year abstainers showed faster decline in the global cognitive score (-0.21 [-0.37, -0.04]) and executive function (-0.17 [-0.32, -0.01]). CONCLUSIONS: Excessive alcohol consumption in men (≥36 g/d) was associated with faster cognitive decline compared with light to moderate alcohol consumption.
Keywords
Adult, Aged, Aging, Alcohol Drinking, Cognition Disorders, Cohort Studies, Executive Function, Female, Humans, Linear Models, Male, Memory, Middle Aged, Neuropsychological Tests, Surveys and Questionnaires
Sponsorship
The Whitehall II study is supported by the British Medical Research Council (K013351), British Heart Foundation; National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (R01HL036310); and US NIH National Institute on Aging (R01AG013196; R01AG034454).
Identifiers
External DOI: https://doi.org/10.1212/WNL.0000000000000063
This record's URL: https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/286548
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