Study finds alcohol use the biggest risk factor for dementia

Alcohol use disorders are the most important preventable risk factors for the onset of all types of dementia, especially early-onset dementia.

by Alzheimer's Reading Room

This study looked specifically at the effect of alcohol use disorders, and included people who had been diagnosed with mental and behavioural disorders or chronic diseases that were attributable to chronic harmful use of alcohol.

Of the 57,000 cases of early-onset dementia (before the age of 65), the majority (57%) were related to chronic heavy drinking.

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Largest study of its kind finds alcohol use biggest risk factor for dementia

• Of the 57,000 cases of early-onset dementia (before the age of 65), the majority (57%) were related to chronic heavy drinking.

The World Health Organization (WHO) defines chronic heavy drinking as consuming more than 60 grams pure alcohol on average per day for men (4-5 Canadian standard drinks) and 40 grams (about 3 standard drinks) per day for women.

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As a result of the strong association found in this study, the authors suggest that

• screening, 
• brief interventions for heavy drinking, 
• and treatment for alcohol use disorders should be implemented to reduce the alcohol-attributable burden of dementia.

"The findings indicate that heavy drinking and alcohol use disorders are the most important risk factors for dementia, and especially important for those types of dementia which start before age 65, and which lead to premature deaths.” 

“Alcohol-induced brain damage and dementia are preventable, and known-effective preventive and policy measures can make a dent into premature dementia deaths." ~ Dr. Jürgen Rehmsays, Director of the CAMH Institute for Mental Health Policy Research .

• Dr. Rehm points out that on average, alcohol use disorders shorten life expectancy by more than 20 years, and dementia is one of the leading causes of death for these people.

For early-onset dementia, there was a significant gender split. While the overall majority of dementia patients were women, almost two-thirds of all early-onset dementia patients (64.9%) were men.

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Alcohol use disorders were also associated with all other independent risk factors for dementia onset, such as tobacco smoking, high blood pressure, diabetes, lower education, depression, and hearing loss, among modifiable risk factors. It suggests that alcohol use disorders may contribute in many ways to the risk of dementia.

"As a geriatric psychiatrist, I frequently see the effects of alcohol use disorder on dementia, when unfortunately alcohol treatment interventions may be too late to improve cognition.”

“Screening for and reduction of problem drinking, and treatment for alcohol use disorders need to start much earlier in primary care." ~ CAMH Vice-President of Research Dr. Bruce Pollock.

The authors also noted that only the most severe cases of alcohol use disorder – ones involving hospitalization – were included in the study.

This could mean that, because of ongoing stigma regarding the reporting of alcohol-use disorders, the association between chronic heavy drinking and dementia may be even stronger.

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Published in The Lancet Public Health journal, of over one million adults diagnosed with dementia in France.

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This study received no funding. It was conducted by researchers from Translational Health Economics Network (THEN); UMR 1137 INSERM–Université Paris Diderot, Sorbonne Paris Cité; Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, University of Toronto; INSERM, University of Bordeaux, Centre INSERM U1219-Bordeaux Population Health, ISPED-Bordeaux School of Public Health.

The full text of The Lancet Public Health study can be found here: www.thelancet-press.com/embargo/dementiaalcohol.pdf

Materials provided by Centre for Addiction and Mental Health. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.

Citation

Michaël Schwarzinger, Bruce G Pollock, Omer S M Hasan, Carole Dufouil, Prof Jürgen Rehm, QalyDays Study Group.
Contribution of alcohol use disorders to the burden of dementia in France
2008–13: a nationwide retrospective cohort study.
The Lancet Public Health, 2018
DOI: 10.1016/S2468-2667(18)30022-7

The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) is Canada's largest mental health and addiction teaching hospital, as well as one of the world's leading research centres in its field.