Experts Link Moderate Drinking to Reduced Risk of Dementia in Elderly: How Beneficial Is It for Your Health Really?

In a recently published study, experts at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, have found moderate drinking in older adults to benefit their health and stave off risk of developing dementia and cognitive impairment. "This study is unique because we considered men and women's cognitive health at late age and found that alcohol consumption is not only associated with reduced mortality, but with greater chances of remaining cognitively healthy into older age," said senior author Linda McEvoy, associate professor at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine.

The world of science seems to stand divided on the effects of moderate drinking on human health. A study that was published earlier this year in the journal BMJ noted moderate drinking to lead to cognitive decline and brain damage in people. Another research carried out by a team of experts at the University of Southern Denmark found moderate drinking to be beneficial for people suffering from diabetes. "Our findings suggest that alcohol drinking frequency is associated with the risk of diabetes and that consumption of alcohol over 3-4 weekdays is associated with the lowest risks of diabetes, even after taking average weekly alcohol consumption into account," researchers were quoted by PTI.

The effects of moderate drinking on health, as examined by various studies, may hold true; however, the biggest catch remains that of varying standards denoting 'moderate drinking' in different parts of the world. As per a recent AFP report, units describing 'moderate drinking' vastly differ across the world. The British government recently lowered the units of alcoholic beverages to a maximum of 14 drinks a week to be categorized under 'moderate drinking'.

"In other countries, that threshold is set higher for men: 35 units in Spain, 24.5 in the United States, 21 in Denmark and Ireland, and 19 in New Zealand. For women, however, the guidelines for maximum weekly consumption in all of these nations - except for Spain - are 14 drinks or less," noted the AFP report.

Inputs from agencies