Makaya Funk-White1, Alison A Moore1, Linda K McEvoy2, Mark W Bondi3,4, Jaclyn Bergstrom1,2, Christopher N Kaufmann5. 1. Division of Geriatrics, Gerontology and Palliative Care, Department of Medicine, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA. 2. Department of Radiology, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA. 3. Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA. 4. Veterans Affairs San Diego Healthcare System, San Diego, California, USA. 5. Division of Epidemiology and Data Science in Gerontology, Department of Aging and Geriatric Research, University of Florida College of Medicine, Gainesville, FL, USA.
Abstract
OBJECTIVES: To examine associations between alcohol use and cognitive performance among older adults in Greece and the United States, and assess potential differences due to differing drinking practices in the two countries. METHODS: Data came from Hellenic Longitudinal Investigation of Aging and Diet (HELIAD) and National Alzheimer's Coordinating Center Uniform Dataset (NACC). We examined those aged 65-90 years at baseline who had no cognitive impairment and complete data for cognitive and alcohol use variables (N = 1110 from HELIAD; N = 2455 from NACC). We examined associations between current alcohol use and frequency of such use with cognitive performance on various cognitive tasks stratified by gender. RESULTS: In NACC, use of alcohol was associated with better cognitive performance. Men drinkers performed better than non-drinkers on Trail A (standardized mean 0.07 vs. -0.24, p<.001), Trail B (0.06 vs. -0.19, p=.001), and women drinkers performed better on Trail A (0.04 vs. -0.09, p=.016), Trail B (0.04 vs. -0.10, p=.005), verbal fluency (Animals: 0.05 vs. -0.13, p<.001; Vegetables: 0.04 vs. -0.09, p=.027), and MoCA (0.03 vs. -0.08, p=.039). In HELIAD, fewer differences were seen with only women drinkers exhibiting better performance than non-drinkers on the Boston Naming Task (0.11 vs. -0.05, p=.016). In general, more frequent drinkers performed better on cognitive tasks than less frequent drinkers, although this was only statistically significant in the NACC dataset. CONCLUSION: While drinking alcohol may be associated with better cognitive performance across both the US and Greece, more research is needed to assess the cultural factors that may modify this association.
OBJECTIVES: To examine associations between alcohol use and cognitive performance among older adults in Greece and the United States, and assess potential differences due to differing drinking practices in the two countries. METHODS: Data came from Hellenic Longitudinal Investigation of Aging and Diet (HELIAD) and National Alzheimer's Coordinating Center Uniform Dataset (NACC). We examined those aged 65-90 years at baseline who had no cognitive impairment and complete data for cognitive and alcohol use variables (N = 1110 from HELIAD; N = 2455 from NACC). We examined associations between current alcohol use and frequency of such use with cognitive performance on various cognitive tasks stratified by gender. RESULTS: In NACC, use of alcohol was associated with better cognitive performance. Men drinkers performed better than non-drinkers on Trail A (standardized mean 0.07 vs. -0.24, p<.001), Trail B (0.06 vs. -0.19, p=.001), and women drinkers performed better on Trail A (0.04 vs. -0.09, p=.016), Trail B (0.04 vs. -0.10, p=.005), verbal fluency (Animals: 0.05 vs. -0.13, p<.001; Vegetables: 0.04 vs. -0.09, p=.027), and MoCA (0.03 vs. -0.08, p=.039). In HELIAD, fewer differences were seen with only women drinkers exhibiting better performance than non-drinkers on the Boston Naming Task (0.11 vs. -0.05, p=.016). In general, more frequent drinkers performed better on cognitive tasks than less frequent drinkers, although this was only statistically significant in the NACC dataset. CONCLUSION: While drinking alcohol may be associated with better cognitive performance across both the US and Greece, more research is needed to assess the cultural factors that may modify this association.
Entities:
Keywords:
Cognitive performance; alcohol use; frequency; international comparison
Authors: Sandra Kalmijn; Martin P J van Boxtel; Monique W M Verschuren; Jelle Jolles; Lenore J Launer Journal: Am J Epidemiol Date: 2002-11-15 Impact factor: 4.897
Authors: Susan E Luczak; Carol A Prescott; Cyril Dalais; Adrian Raine; Peter H Venables; Sarnoff A Mednick Journal: Drug Alcohol Depend Date: 2013-11-07 Impact factor: 4.492
Authors: S Sieri; V Krogh; C Saieva; D E Grobbee; M Bergmann; S Rohrmann; A Tjønneland; P Ferrari; Y Chloptsios; V Dilis; M Jenab; J Linseisen; P Wallström; I Johansson; M D Chirlaque; M J Sanchez; M Niravong; F Clavel-Chapelon; A A Welch; N E Allen; H B Bueno-de-Mesquita; Y T van der Schouw; C Sacerdote; S Panico; C L Parr; T Braaten; A Olsen; M K Jensen; S Bingham; E Riboli; N Slimani Journal: Eur J Clin Nutr Date: 2009-11 Impact factor: 4.016
Authors: Kenneth J Mukamal; Lewis H Kuller; Annette L Fitzpatrick; W T Longstreth; Murray A Mittleman; David S Siscovick Journal: JAMA Date: 2003-03-19 Impact factor: 56.272
Authors: Jürgen Rehm; Omer S M Hasan; Sandra E Black; Kevin D Shield; Michaël Schwarzinger Journal: Alzheimers Res Ther Date: 2019-01-05 Impact factor: 6.982