People who have sworn off alcohol face a higher risk of dementia, study states
People who have sworn off alcohol, also known as teetotallers, are apparently 50 per cent more likely to suffer from Alzheimer’s.
Jehana Antia | Aug 2, 2018, 10:55 IST
All of you have taken an oath to never drink a sip of alcohol in your lives might want to consider that oath again. Why, you ask? Well, a new study has found that teetotallers, people who have sworn off alcohol, run a higher risk of dementia late in life than moderate drinkers. Long-term teetotallers were roughly 50 per cent more likely to suffer Alzheimer’s or another form of neurodegenerative disease as compared to alcohol drinkers.
Published in the medical journal, BMJ, the study also stated that heavy drinkers were likely to suffer from dementia for various different reasons. The startling results are robust, and should prompt government-funded trials to assess "the possible protective effect of light-to-moderate alcohol use on risk of dementia," commented Sevil Yasar, an associate professor at the John Hopkins School of Medicine who was not involved in the study.
Worldwide, about seven per cent of people over 65 suffer from some form of dementia. This percentage rises to 40 per cent above the age of 85. The number of sufferers is expected to triple by 2050. On an ending note, alcohol choices must take into account all the associated risk factors other than dementia such as liver diseases or even diabetes.
RELATED
