Alcoholic Beverages and Incidence of Dementia: 34-Year Follow-up of the Prospective Population Study of Women in Goteborg

Abstract

The objective of this study was to assess the association between different types of alcoholic beverages and 34-year incidence of dementia. Among a random sample of 1,462 women aged 38-60 years and living in Göteborg, Sweden, in 1968-1969, 164 cases of dementia were diagnosed by 2002. At baseline as well as in 1974-1975, 1980-1981, and 1992-1993, the frequency of alcohol intake, as well as other lifestyle and health factors, was recorded and related to dementia with Cox proportional hazard regression, by use of both baseline and updated covariates. Wine was protective for dementia (hazard ratio (HR) = 0.6, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.4, 0.8) in the updated model, and the association was strongest among women who consumed wine only (HR = 0.3, 95% CI: 0.1, 0.8). After stratification by smoking, the protective association of wine was stronger among smokers. In contrast, consumption of spirits at baseline was associated with slightly increased risk of dementia (HR = 1.5, 95% CI: 1.0, 2.2). Results show that wine and spirits displayed opposing associations with dementia. Because a protective effect was not seen for the other beverages, at least part of the association for wine may be explained by components other than ethanol.

Natural Phenolic Compounds as Therapeutic and Preventive Agents for Cerebral Amyloidosis

“…As this protective effect was not seen for alcoholic beverages other than wine (Truelsen et al 2002;Luchsinger et al 2004;Mehlig et al 2008;Arntzen et al 2010), it is suggested that the association for wine may be attributable to components of wine other than ethanol itself. In a population-based prospective study, consumption of fruit and vegetable juices, containing a high concentration of polyphenols, decreased a risk of AD (Dai et al 2006).…”

“…Several prospective cohort studies also reported that moderate intake of wine was associated with a reduced risk of dementia, AD, or cognitive decline (Orgogozo et al 1997;Truelsen et al 2002;Luchsinger et al 2004;Solfrizzi et al 2007;Mehlig et al 2008;Arntzen et al 2010). As this protective effect was not seen for alcoholic beverages other than wine (Truelsen et al 2002;Luchsinger et al 2004;Mehlig et al 2008;Arntzen et al 2010), it is suggested that the association for wine may be attributable to components of wine other than ethanol itself.…”

Wine consumption, cognitive function and dementias – A relationship?

“…Moderate wine consumption rather than alcohol consumption per se has been specifically associated with a lower risk of developing dementia and specifically Alzheimer's disease in studies over the past two decades [38,54,[72][73][74][77][78][79][80][81][82][83][84]. Wine consumption of up to approximately 75 mL per day improved cognition in 883 elderly subjects recruited from the Norwegian Hordaland Health Study [154].…”

Wine and Health: A Review

“…Similar results were reported in elderly populations (Ganguli et al 2005, Peters et al 2008). There are conflicting data as to whether wine polyphenols provide additional protection beyond that of alcohol (Mehlig et al 2008), although neuroprotective effects have also been observed with grape juice supplementation in human studies (Joseph et al 2009). It is likely that the antioxidants present in wine prevent oxidative damage in the brain that is associated with the process of aging.…”