An Examination of the Association Between Alcohol and Dementia in a Longitudinal Study

• Activity Number: 357 - SPEED: Biopharmaceutical Statistics
• Type: Contributed
• Date/Time: Tuesday, August 1, 2017 : 10:30 AM to 11:15 AM
• Sponsor: Biopharmaceutical Section
• Author(s): Tingting Hu* and Dan McGee and Elizabeth Slate
• Companies: Florida State University and Florida State University and Florida State University
• Keywords: alcohol ; dementia risk ; longitudinal analysis ; Framingham heart study ; cognitive impairment ; alcohol history

Abstract

In this study, we examined the effect of alcohol consumption on cognitive function in three terms: 1) alcohol intake as a time-varying factor; 2) alcohol consumption categories by type of alcoholic beverage; 3) alcohol intake in middle-aged years.

The study population consisted of 2,365 participants who took Exams 17-23 in the Framingham Heart Study during 1981-1996 and had complete data on alcohol use. Marginal and standard logistic regression analysis were applied. All analyses were done to men and women separately.

After the follow-up period (mean =40 years), 530 individuals (191 men, 339 women) were assessed as dementia possible or present. The results showed that moderate and heavy drinking were significantly associated with a lower risk of dementia regardless gender. None beverage types showed a significant relation with dementia for men, whereas wine and liquor was significantly associated with a lower risk of dementia for women. The significance and/or magnitude of the effect of alcohol on cognitive function may vary by gender and by beverage type. The early alcohol intake in middle-aged years seemed not significantly associated with cognitive performance.