Moderate drinking may reduce Alzheimer’s deaths

Premature deaths among sufferers of mild Alzheimer’s disease could be reduced by light to moderate alcohol consumption, researchers have claimed.

Two to three drinks a day may reduce premature deaths among those recently diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease

A new study published in the BMJ Open journal has found that people recently diagnosed with the disease who consumed two to three units a day had ‘significantly lower’ mortality rates.

Using previously published data, researchers examined 321 participants in Denmark, 8% of whom didn’t drink at all, 71% consumed one to two units a day, 17% had two to three units a day and 4% had more than three units a day.

Those who drank two to three units of alcohol daily were found to have a 77% lower chance of death, after taking into account gender, age, education and smoking.

Researchers did not see any significant difference in patients who didn’t drink at all or those who had more than three drinks a day.

“These results are somewhat surprising because Alzheimer’s disease is a neurodegenerative disease and we know that alcohol can have harmful effects on the brain,” said lead author Dr. Sine Berntsen of the University of Copenhagen in Denmark, speaking to Fox News.

“On the other hand we have seen in earlier studies that alcohol in light to moderate amounts can have a protective effect on cardiovascular disease and mortality in healthy adults.”

Nevertheless, the study claims that more research is needed in the area.

“The results of our study point towards a potential, positive association of moderate alcohol consumption on mortality in patients with AD,” said the researchers. “However, we cannot solely on the basis of this study neither encourage nor advise against moderate alcohol consumption in patients with AD.

“Further studies are needed on this area. Studies on the effect of alcohol on cognitive decline and disease progression in patients with mild AD would be especially interesting.”