Moderate alcohol consumption in older adults is associated with better cognition and well-being than abstinence
Age and Ageing 2007 36(3):256-261



There is evidence of a U-shaped association between alcohol consumption and physical health outcomes in older people, such that moderate drinking is associated with better outcomes than abstinence or heavy drinking, but whether moderate drinking in older people is associated with better cognition and mental health than non-drinking has not been explored.

The objective of the study is to assess the relationship between drinking and cognitive health in middle-aged and older people.

For both men and women, better cognition and subjective well-being, and fewer depressive symptoms, were associated with moderate levels of alcohol consumption than with never having drunk any.

In middle-aged and older men and women, moderate levels of alcohol consumption are associated with better cognitive health than abstinence.


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