Scientists have found a link between alcohol consumption and Alzheimer's disease

According to the world Alzheimer's 2018 report, every three seconds, there is a dementia patient in the world There are at least 50 million people with dementia around the world In China, there are about 10 million people with Alzheimer's disease It is estimated that by 2050, the number of patients will exceed 40 million, more than the total population of Canada Therefore, it is more urgent than ever to understand the cause of the disease Previous studies have found factors that increase the risk of dementia There are factors that cannot be stopped, such as aging However, other potential risk factors, such as smoking and drinking, are likely to be avoided It is important to identify these risk factors because they help prevent or delay the onset of dementia Recently, researchers from Harvard University's t.h.chan School of public health designed a study to find the link between dementia and alcohol consumption in a study published on JAMA network open Although there have been studies on the relationship between alcohol consumption and dementia, there is still a lack of scientific research For example, in a previous study, researchers calculated the average daily amount of alcohol consumed each year But the average daily consumption calculated in this way ignores the subtle differences in alcohol content and frequency This is very important For example, drinking seven beers one day a week may have a different effect than drinking one every night, although the amount of alcohol consumed is the same The authors of another study concluded that middle-aged drinking increased the risk of dementia However, it is not clear whether regular light drinking has the same effect Other studies on the relationship between alcohol, dementia risk and APOE e4 have complicated the answer This genetic variation is associated with an increased risk of Alzheimer's disease An earlier study concluded that drinking alcohol increased the risk of dementia, while people with APOE e4 variants were more likely to develop dementia Another unknown factor is how alcohol affects the risk of dementia in patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) Scientists believe that MCI is between the normal cognitive decline associated with aging and dementia The purpose of this study is to answer the above questions The scientists analyzed the existing data set and obtained information from 3021 participants with an average age of 72 These data are provided by the study of Ginkgo memory assessment in 2000-2008 At the start of the study, participants provided information on the amount, frequency and type of drinking (beer, wine or white wine) According to the authors, at the start of the study, each participant underwent a comprehensive neuropsychological test consisting of 10 tests that assessed a range of cognitive functions, which participants completed every six months The researchers isolated DNA from blood samples of participants to identify carriers of APOE e4 variants In addition to genetic data and details of alcohol intake, the researchers collated information about blood pressure, weight, height, history of heart disease and smoking They also asked questions to estimate the frequency of each participant's social activities Of the 3021 participants, 2548 had no MCI and 473 had MCI During a follow-up of about six years, 512 participants were diagnosed with dementia The authors found that among those who did not have MCI, those who did not drink more than one drink a week had an increased risk of dementia When they analyzed people with MCI, they got similar results and found no statistically significant differences However, patients with MCI who drink more than 14 drinks a week have a 72% higher risk of dementia than those who drink less than one drink a week The authors also noted some differences related to drinking patterns: "people who drink a small amount of alcohol a day are at a lower risk of dementia than those who don't drink a lot of alcohol a day but drink a large amount of alcohol a single time, without a MCI baseline." Although the authors are keen to highlight the negative effects of excessive drinking on brain health and overall health, they also point out: "our results confirm once again that drinking within the recommended limits does not increase the risk of dementia in elderly people with normal cognitive ability." When the researchers analyzed the potential impact of APOE e4, no significant impact was found, which confirmed several previous studies The authors speculate that the findings suggest that APOE e4 has no significant effect, probably because the association is more pronounced in young people They need further study In short, the current research can not provide reliable answers However, it confirms that the relationship between alcohol and dementia is very complex, and we may need more research.