Original Research Article

Alcohol Drinking and Cognitive Functions: Findings from the Cardiovascular Risk Factors Aging and Dementia (CAIDE) Study
Tiia Ngandu^{a, b}, Eeva-Liisa Helkala^c, Hilkka Soininen^b, Bengt Winblad^{a, d}, Jaakko Tuomilehto^e-g, Aulikki Nissinen^e, Miia Kivipelto<sup>a, b, d

a</sup>Aging Research Center (ARC), Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden; Departments of
^bNeuroscience and Neurology and
^cPublic Health and General Practice, University of Kuopio, Kuopio, Finland;
^dDivision of Geriatric Medicine, Karolinska University Hospital, Huddinge, Sweden;
^eDepartment of Public Health, University of Helsinki, Helsinki,
^fDepartment of Epidemiology and Health Promotion, KTL - National Public Health Institute, Helsinki, and
^gSouth Ostrobothnia Central Hospital, Seinäjoki, Finland

Address of Corresponding Author

Dement Geriatr Cogn Disord 2007;23:140-149 (DOI: 10.1159/000097995)

  Key Words

• Alcohol drinking, cognitive function
• Cognitive function, alcohol consumption
• Cohort studies, alcohol drinking

  Abstract

Background: Moderate alcohol drinking is suggested to be beneficial for cognitive functions, but the results of previous studies have varied greatly. Little is known about the effects of midlife alcohol drinking on the cognitive functions later in life. Methods: Participants were derived from random, population-based samples studied in Eastern Finland in 1972, 1977, 1982, or 1987. A total of 1,341 participants were reexamined in 1998, after an average follow-up period of 21 years, at ages 65-79 years. Results: The participants who did not drink alcohol at midlife had a poorer performance in episodic memory, psychomotor speed, and executive function in late life as compared with infrequent and frequent drinkers, adjusted for sociodemographic and vascular factors. Also late-life nondrinkers had poorer psychomotor speed and executive function. These findings were evident especially among nonsmokers. Further, no interactions between apolipoprotein E4 and alcohol or sex and alcohol were found. Conclusions: Alcohol drinking both at midlife and later is favorably related to the function in several cognitive domains, including episodic memory, psychomotor speed, and executive function, in late life. However, it is not clear whether the association is causal, what is the possible mechanism, and what would be a safe limit of drinking for the best cognitive function.

Copyright © 2007 S. Karger AG, Basel

  Author Contacts

Tiia Ngandu
Aging Research Center, Karolinska Institutet
Gävlegatan 16
SE-11330 Stockholm (Sweden)
Tel. +46 358 40 524 1759, Fax +46 358 17 162 048, E-Mail tiia.ngandu@ki.se

  Article Information

Accepted: November 4, 2006
Published online: December 14, 2006
Number of Print Pages : 10
Number of Figures : 0, Number of Tables : 5, Number of References : 48