Statins Could Reduce Dementia Risk Even in People With Low Cholesterol : ScienceAlert

link between alcoholism and dementia

Shingles, a viral infection that produces a painful rash, is caused by the same virus that causes chicken pox — varicella-zoster. After people contract chicken pox, usually in childhood, the virus stays dormant in the nerve cells for life. In people who are older or have can alcohol cause dementia weakened immune systems, the dormant virus can reactivate and cause shingles.

Alcohol and Alzheimer’s Disease

Since we excluded gender- and beverage-specific studies, no conclusions can be drawn concerning different effects for men or women or effects of specific ingredients of alcoholic beverages other than alcohol. An even greater amount of evidence concerning the link between dementia and alcohol consumption might be gathered by using further databases and including publications in languages other than English for a more thorough systematic review. The AIP patients demonstrated no increased cause-specific mortality compared to AD patients across a wide range of causes of death, while several cause-specific mortalities were higher among DT patients. This latter finding is consistent with earlier research on DT 14, 20, and supports the view that the DT patients can be considered the more severe cases of AD.

Lowering risk for age-related brain diseases

  • The current study addresses these limitations by harmonizing individual participant‐level data from 15 prospective epidemiological cohort studies, including representation from countries situated throughout six continents, and examining the alcohol–dementia relationship.
  • In the second part, we will present the results of a systematic literature search we conducted.
  • If you or someone you know is experiencing these symptoms alongside a history of heavy drinking, it’s essential to seek help from an Addiction Treatment Program in Boston that specializes in alcohol-related issues.
  • In fact, alcohol use was identified as the strongest modifiable risk factor for dementia onset in this study.
  • Scientists also need to figure out how LDL cholesterol might be driving dementia in the brain at a molecular level.

The Lancet review by Livingston et al. 1 showed that the risks of heavy drinking and AUDs for dementia have been underestimated. The French hospital cohort study, indicating that AUDs represented the highest RR for dementia of all modifiable risk factors for dementia, determined that alcohol use needs to be taken into consideration by our health and social welfare systems 13. Replication studies from other countries would also improve the evidence base 75. However, all prior findings have been conducted in observational studiesthat assume no confounders influence the reported results and are limited byselection bias, an underlying illness-death structure, and the heterogeneous natureof the abstainer comparison group. Like randomized control trials, MR analysesreduce confounding and reverse causality due to the random allocation of genotypesfrom parents to offspring.

  • Chronic abuse can shrink brain volume, particularly in the hippocampus, the area responsible for memory and learning.
  • The connection between alcoholism and dementia is a serious concern that underscores the importance of responsible alcohol consumption and early intervention for those struggling with alcohol addiction.
  • A person may consider joining support groups or attending counseling or therapy if alcohol use is impairing their quality of life in the short and long term.
  • You should consult with your healthcare providers when making decisions regarding your health.
  • To correct for the presence of dependent censoring, inverse probability of censoring weights were calculated using the WeightIt package in R 30.

Parenthood May Boost Brain Health and Protect Against Ageing, Study Finds

  • In addition to doing various tests, examiners asked about each person’s drinking, smoking and exercise habits.
  • A Drug Addiction Treatment Boston program offering dual diagnosis care ensures that both conditions are treated simultaneously, improving long-term outcomes.
  • That said, there’s still a noticeable difference in risk for those who have stayed single.
  • A person can be diagnosed with alcohol-related ‘dementia’ if they have problems with memory, thinking or reasoning that severely affect their daily life, and are most likely to have been caused  by drinking too much alcohol.
  • The doctor may also ask about problems with mood, such as anxiety or depression.

If alcohol use has escalated despite negative consequences, professional intervention at an Addiction Treatment Center in Boston can address both the addiction and its cognitive effects. Joining a support group or seeking counseling can help you manage the stress and maintain your own well-being. Learn about alcohol-related dementia to better understand your loved one’s condition and how to alcohol rehab support them effectively. This stage typically disrupts daily functioning, and professional treatment is essential to halt further damage. Chronic abuse can shrink brain volume, particularly in the hippocampus, the area responsible for memory and learning.

The Dangerous Connection: How Alcoholism Can Fuel Dementia Risk

MR uses genetic variantsas proxies for environmental exposures to provide an estimate of the causalassociation between an intermediate exposure and a disease outcome. MR foundevidence of a causal association between alcohol consumption and an earlier ADage of onset, suggesting that light-moderate alcohol consumption does not reducerisk of Alzheimer’s disease. Balanced against these strengths, the current findings also need to be considered within the context of some limitations. Beverage type was not consistently assessed across the cohorts and therefore could not be considered in the current study.

link between alcoholism and dementia

Dementia is a clinical syndrome characterized by a progressive deterioration in cognitive ability and the capacity for independent living and functioning 1. Dementia affects memory, thinking, behavior, and the ability to perform everyday activities 2, and is a leading cause of disability in older individuals 3. The researchers looked at the health records of more than 280,000 older adults who were 71 to 88 years old and did not have dementia at the start of the vaccination program.

link between alcoholism and dementia

Additional searches/sensitivity analysis

link between alcoholism and dementia

“Ultimately, we hope that people feel like there’s a hopeful message in here — that there are actually so many things that you can work on, and then not only your risk of stroke is lower, but also of dementia and/or of late-life depression,” Singh noted. However, researchers found that improving just one of these variables could lower your risk of all three conditions—stroke, dementia, and late-life depression. Of the 350 results from the original search, a total of 28 systematic reviews, most of which were published after 2010 11, 20, 22,23,24,25,26,27,28,29,30,31,32,33,34,35,36,37,38,39,40,41,42,43,44,45,46,47, met all inclusion criteria. If you or a loved one is struggling with alcohol addiction and experiencing signs of cognitive decline, don’t wait to seek help. At our Drug Rehab Boston, we offer compassionate, evidence-based care tailored to your needs.

  • “This study was well done and is extremely robust with 4 million subjects, but we should be cautious not to over interpret the findings,” said Alzheimer’s researcher Dr. Richard Isaacson, a preventive neurologist at the Institute for Neurodegenerative Diseases of Florida.
  • Furthermore, cohort studies in twins may contribute to identifying genetic variations 85.
  • An even greater amount of evidence concerning the link between dementia and alcohol consumption might be gathered by using further databases and including publications in languages other than English for a more thorough systematic review.
  • Keeping alcohol consumption to one or two drinks a day lessened the odds of developing dementia, according to a study of nearly 4 million South Koreans.
  • Read our tips for supporting a person with ARBD (alcohol-related dementia and Wernicke-Korsakoff’s).
  • As such the results from this study provide further support for thecautious interpretation of the proposed cognitive health benefits of alcohol 10, and further highlights that futureobservational studies need to account for potential confounding factors.

Data Availability Statement

link between alcoholism and dementia

A 2019 review found a significant association between reducing a person’s alcohol consumption with a lower risk of cognitive impairments and dementia. When compared with abstainers, the risk for dementia was lower in occasional, light–moderate and moderate–heavy drinkers (Table 3). Similar relationships were found in the fully adjusted model and competing risk model, as well as in the subsample of males. For women, the unadjusted model showed that, when compared with abstainers, the risk for dementia was lower in occasional, light–moderate and moderate–heavy drinkers.


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