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Friday, January 25, 2008

Alcoholic Beverages and Incidence of Dementia: 34-Year Follow-up of the Prospective Population Study of Women in Göteborg
American Journal of Epidemiology Advance Access published online on January 24, 2008


The objective of this study was to assess the association between different types of alcoholic beverages and 34-year incidence of dementia.

Wine was protective for dementia (hazard ratio (HR) = 0.6, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.4, 0.8) in the updated model, and the association was strongest among women who consumed wine only (HR = 0.3, 95% CI: 0.1, 0.8). After stratification by smoking, the protective association of wine was stronger among smokers.

In contrast, consumption of spirits at baseline was associated with slightly increased risk of dementia (HR = 1.5, 95% CI: 1.0, 2.2). Results show that wine and spirits displayed opposing associations with dementia.

Because a protective effect was not seen for the other beverages, at least part of the association for wine may be explained by components other than ethanol.

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