I am not qualified to read the data well, but one of my immediate thoughts was "Well if you live long enough you're basically guaranteed dementia, perhaps abstaining from alcohol helps you get that old?"
> Well if you live long enough you're basically guaranteed dementia
Not true; I'm sure there is a relationship between age and prevalence of dementia, but it's far from a guarantee.
I've known too many centennials of surprisingly sound mind, and they eventually start having falls and the body can't heal sufficiently to fully recover.
Once the dementia sets in, though, that's another story. The aging process seems to advance quicker when dementia is present.
Considering the number of authors, it might be more appropriate to default to an assumption of competence and basic knowledge of their subject in there somewhere.
I always sort of assumed that since we know stress is a major factor in health, that moderate drinking probably has an overall beneficial effect due to the stress reduction, even if the physical effect of the alcohol itself is slightly negative. Like maybe you get a -2 modifier for consuming alcohol and a +5 modifier for stress reduction and so you end up ahead. Same goes for the likely added benefit to social interactions, unless you're drinking alone in the basement.
Then again, I'm pretty far from a scientist so I'm just spit-balling here.
> Experimental evidence in animal models is consistent with this observational research, confirming the neurotoxicity of heavy alcohol use and the protective effects of alcohol at low doses.
> increased dementia risk associated with abstaining was evident after controlling for relevant demographic and clinical characteristics
The authors take pains to point out that alcohol is still definitely bad for you overall, and they also point out that heavy alcohol use is known to cause dementia. I'd say it's a fairly safe bet that this is a statistic artifact, and even if it isn't you still shouldn't start drinking.
>While light to moderate alcohol use may reduce dementia risk, even low levels of alcohol use have been associated with reduced brain volume, grey matter atrophy and increased white matter hyperintensities [5, 44, 45], indicating that alcohol use is unlikely to be directly neuroprotective. In addition, light-to-moderate alcohol use has been associated with other health conditions, including some cancers [46], cautioning against recommending the commencement of alcohol use in those who abstain.
>There is evidence from other sources, such as hospital-based studies, which indicate that heavy alcohol use and alcohol use disorders are strongly and causally associated with dementia (particularly young onset dementia) [7], as well as neurocognitive diseases where alcohol use is a contributing or necessary factor (i.e. alcohol-related dementia and Wernicke–Korsakoff syndrome) [8].
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[ 2.5 ms ] story [ 43.3 ms ] threadNot true; I'm sure there is a relationship between age and prevalence of dementia, but it's far from a guarantee.
I've known too many centennials of surprisingly sound mind, and they eventually start having falls and the body can't heal sufficiently to fully recover.
Once the dementia sets in, though, that's another story. The aging process seems to advance quicker when dementia is present.
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-022-11427-x
(Unfortunately it increases the risk of some cancers, too.)
Then again, I'm pretty far from a scientist so I'm just spit-balling here.
> Experimental evidence in animal models is consistent with this observational research, confirming the neurotoxicity of heavy alcohol use and the protective effects of alcohol at low doses.
> increased dementia risk associated with abstaining was evident after controlling for relevant demographic and clinical characteristics
>While light to moderate alcohol use may reduce dementia risk, even low levels of alcohol use have been associated with reduced brain volume, grey matter atrophy and increased white matter hyperintensities [5, 44, 45], indicating that alcohol use is unlikely to be directly neuroprotective. In addition, light-to-moderate alcohol use has been associated with other health conditions, including some cancers [46], cautioning against recommending the commencement of alcohol use in those who abstain.
>There is evidence from other sources, such as hospital-based studies, which indicate that heavy alcohol use and alcohol use disorders are strongly and causally associated with dementia (particularly young onset dementia) [7], as well as neurocognitive diseases where alcohol use is a contributing or necessary factor (i.e. alcohol-related dementia and Wernicke–Korsakoff syndrome) [8].