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OBJECTIVE: To determine the relationship between long-term alcohol intake and cognitive functioning in aging Caucasian men. METHOD: A retrospective cohort and co-twin-control study of self-reported alcohol intake and cognitive testing using the National Academy of Sciences-National Research Council (NAS-NRC) Twin Panel of U.S. veterans (born between 1917 and 1927). The study included 4,739 twins with two self-reported drinking histories (1970s and 1980s) and a telephone mental status interview (1990 and 1991) that also included 145 individuals with a diagnosis of alcoholism. RESULTS: Age and education adjusted cognitive scores were lower (p 16.0). Past drinkers had scores lower (p < .05) than nondrinkers and all but quintiles 1 and 5 of the drinkers. The light drinkers in quintile 1 and the heavy drinkers in quintile 5 scored lower (p < .05) than the moderate drinkers in quintile 4. Monozygotic twins in quintile 4 scored higher (p < .05) than their co-twins in quintiles 1-3. CONCLUSIONS: No evidence was found to indicate an association between moderate long-term alcohol intake and lower cognitive scores in aging individuals. There was a suggestion of a small protective effect of past moderate alcohol intake on cognitive function with aging.
Christian et al. (Sat,) studied this question.