Light alcohol consumption in people over 60 sharpens their memory

A new study has demonstrated that people who are 60 and above without dementia can consume light alcohol which ultimately makes their memory sharp. The study conducted at University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, University of Kentucky, and University of Maryland showed that moderate alcohol consumption was also linked with a larger volume in the hippocampus, a brain region critical for episodic memory.

This study used data from more than 660 patients in the Framingham Heart Study Offspring Cohort. These patients completed surveys on their alcohol consumption and demographics, a battery of neuropsychological assessments, the presence or absence of the genetic Alzheimer's disease risk factor APOE e4 and MRIs of their brains.

The researchers found that light and moderate alcohol consumption in older people is associated with higher episodic memory and is linked with larger hippocampal brain volume. Amount of alcohol consumption had no impact on executive function or overall mental ability.

Lead author Brian Downer, UTMB Sealy Center, said that there were no significant differences in cognitive functioning and regional brain volumes during late life according to reported midlife alcohol consumption status and this may be due to the fact that adults who were able to continue consuming alcohol into old age were healthier, and therefore had higher cognition and larger regional brain volumes, than people who had to decrease their alcohol consumption due to unfavorable health outcomes.