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ABSTRACT Aims Appropriate lifestyle management, including alcohol consumption, is important for prevention of dementia. This study aimed to clarify the association between alcohol consumption habits, incident dementia, and global cognitive function. Methods Data were obtained from the Japanese observational registry of patients with vascular risk factors. This study included 854 participants who reported a self‐administered questionnaire. Patients were categorized according to alcohol consumption as follows: none ( n = 445); light ( 4.0 drinks/day, n = 59), and followed‐up until March 2023. The primary outcome measure was the incidence of dementia; Secondary outcome was the incidence of stroke, all‐cause death, the Mini‐mental State Examination (MMSE) and Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA). Results At enrollment, MMSE and MOCA scores of heavy drinkers were significantly lower than those of the other groups. During a median follow‐up of 4.7 years, dementia, Alzheimer's disease (AD), stroke, and all‐cause death occurred in 39, 29, 54, and 50 patients, respectively. In Kaplan–Meier curve analysis, no significant difference was observed between alcohol consumption and any event. Cox regression hazard analysis also revealed no difference in the risk for incident dementia and AD among 4 alcohol consumption groups. With no drinking as the reference, the hazard risk for light‐to‐moderate drinking for all‐cause dementia and AD was similar, but that of heavy drink tended to be higher. Conclusion No association was found between mild to moderate alcohol consumption and the risk of incident dementia. Heavy drinker would need to reduce their alcohol consumption to prevent the disease.
Kitagawa et al. (Thu,) studied this question.