How Many Are Too Many?

Whether alcohol promotes or prevents dementia has been studied for years but results are conflicting. A new study tries to resolve the issue by looking at 3000 people (median age 78 and a 6-year follow-up), and separating them into two groups, with or without baseline mild cognitive impairment.

For the cognitively unimpaired group, no amount of alcohol led to any excess risk of dementia.

For the cognitively impaired group, more than two drinks a day, compared to one or none, led to a slightly higher risk. Effect of two drinks was uncertain.
I have two pieces of advice:

1. If you can’t remember how many drinks you’ve had, it’s too many.
2. If you can remember, enjoy while you still can.

See the article by Koch et al in JAMA Network Open.