Raise a glass during middle age to lower risk of dementia

ABSTAINING from alcohol in middle age may increase the risk of dementia in later life, according to a study.

Analysis of more than 9,000 people found those who never touched a drop were about 50 per cent more likely to develop the degenerative condition.

The results, published in the British Medical Journal, challenge formal NHS advice, which recommends going teetotal to reduce the risk of dementia. But they appear to justify the recent reduction of the government-recommended weekly alcohol intake, as the study found that the risk of dementia started increasing beyond 14 units per week.

However, scientists behind the research say health officials will never recommend moderate intake as “safe” because of other diseases, such as cancer, associated with drinking.

The team examined data on 9,087 British civil servants, who were between the ages of 35 and 55.

Abstinence in mid-life was associated with a 50 per cent higher risk of dementia compared with people who consumed one to 14 units per week.

Long-term abstainers and those who reported a decrease in alcohol consumption also appeared to have an increased risk. Experts noted that with every seven-unit increase above the 14-unit-per-week threshold, there was a 17 per cent increase in dementia risk. However, researchers at the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research and University College London said the results may be explained by some abstainers having previously been heavy drinkers.

Dr Séverine Sabia, who led the study, said: “There was no evidence that drinking less than 14 units of alcohol a week is associated with a risk of dementia.”