BACKGROUND: The relationship between moderate alcohol drinking or other alcohol drinking patterns such as frequency, beverage type, and situation of drinking and cognitive function is not sufficiently clear in older people. The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between alcohol drinking patterns and cognitive function in community-dwelling Japanese people aged 75 and over.
METHODS: This study was a cross-sectional design based on a prospective cohort study called the SONIC study. Subjects were older people aged 75-77 or 85-87 who voluntarily participated in 2016-2017. Drinking information was collected for daily drinking frequency, daily drinking intake, beverage type, and non-daily drinking opportunity. Cognitive function was measured using the Japanese version of the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA-J). Other potential confounding factors evaluated were age, sex, medical factors, and psychosocial factors. An analysis of covariance was performed to evaluate the MoCA-J score relative to drinking frequency or alcohol intake. Multiple regression analysis was performed to investigate the association between beverage type or non-daily drinking opportunity and the MoCA-J score.
RESULTS: The final number of participants analyzed was 1,226. The MoCA-J score for participants who reported drinking alcohol 1-6 days/week was significantly higher than that for those who reported drinking none or every day. No significant difference in the MoCA-J score was observed relative to daily alcohol intake. In terms of beverage type, wine was associated positively with the MoCA-J score. Non-daily drinking opportunity was also associated positively with the MoCA-J score.
CONCLUSIONS: Moderate-frequency drinking, wine consumption, and non-daily drinking opportunities were associated with higher cognitive function in community-dwelling Japanese aged 75 and over. Further longitudinal studies are needed to clarify the causal relationships.
BACKGROUND: In the context of increasing global aging, the long-term effects of alcohol consumption on cognitive function in older adults were analyzed in order to provide rationalized health recommendations to the elderly population.
METHODS: The study used the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey (CLHLS) dataset, from which 5354 Chinese seniors aged 65-112 years were selected as the subjects, spanning the years 1998-2018. Data on alcohol, diet, activity, and cognition were collected by questionnaire and cognitive levels were judged by the Mini-Mental State Examination scale (also referenced to the Functional Assessment Staging Test). Data cleaning and preprocessing was implemented by R software. The dynamic Cox model was applied for model construction and data analysis.
RESULTS: The results of the dynamic Cox model suggested that seniors who drank alcohol were at higher risk of cognitive decline compared to those who never drank (HR = 1.291, 95%CI: 1.175-1.419). The risk was similarly exacerbated by perennial drinking habits (i.e., longer drinking years, HR = 1.008, 95%CI: 1.004-1.013). Compared to non-alcoholic beverages, liquor (>/= 38 degrees ), liquor (< 38 degrees ), wine and rice wine all showed negative effects. Whereas, the risk of cognitive decline was relatively lower in seniors who consumed liquors (< 38 degrees ) and rice wine compared to the high-level liquor (HR: 0.672 (0.508, 0.887) and 0.732 (0.559, 0.957), respectively).
CONCLUSIONS: Alcohol consumption has a negative and long-term effects on cognitive function in seniors. For the elderly, we suggested that alcohol intake should be avoided as much as possible.