SkiptomaincontentHomeAboutdementiaAlcoholanddementiaAlcoholanddementiaAlcoholconsumptioninexcesshaswell-documentednegativeeffectsonbothshort-andlong-termhealth,oneofwhichisbraindamagethatcanleadtoAlzheimer'sdiseaseorotherformsofdementia.Canalcoholconsumptionincreasedementiarisk?Excessivealcoholconsumptionoveralengthytimeperiodcanleadtobraindamage,andmayincreaseyourriskofdevelopingdementia.However,drinkingalcoholinmoderationhasnotbeenconclusivelylinkedtoanincreaseddementiarisk,norhasitbeenshowntooffersignificantprotectionagainstdevelopingdementia.Assuch,peoplewhodonotcurrentlydrinkalcoholshouldnotbeencouragedtostartasawaytoreducedementiarisk.Conversely,thosewhodrinkalcoholwithintherecommendedguidelinesarenotadvisedtostoponthegroundsofreducingtheriskofdementia,althoughcuttingbackonalcoholconsumptionmaybringotherhealthbenefits.DementiaConnectsupportline03331503456Ourdementiaadvisersarehereforyou.Whatdoestheevidencesayaboutalcoholanddementia?TworeviewsoftheavailableevidenceconductedbyAlzheimer'sDiseaseInternationalandtheNationalInstituteforHealthandCareExcellence(NICE)scrutinisedmultipleresearchstudiesofalcoholconsumptionandthedevelopmentofdementia.Bothreviewsusedasystematicapproach,thatisoneinwhichresearchersevaluatetheconclusionsmadeinmultiplepreviouslypublishedresearchstudies.Whilethismaysoundlikeare-runofolddata,itisapowerfulapproachthatallowsustomakestrongerconclusionsonagiventopic.Ifmultiplestudiesusingvariedmethodsandstudyingdifferentgroupsofpeoplecomeupwiththesameconclusion,thenwecanbemorecertainoftheconclusionforthewholepopulation.Thesereviewsfoundthatindividualswhodrankheavilyorengagedinbingedrinking-whereapersonconsumesalargequantityofalcoholinashorttimeperiod-weremorelikelytodevelopAlzheimer'sdiseaseoranyotherformofdementiathanthosewhoengagedinmoderatealcoholconsumption(seebelowfordefinition).TheresearchevaluatedbyNICEfocusedonlargepopulationsofhundredsoreventhousandsofpeople,startinginmid-life(age40-64)andtrackedthemforoverfiveyears,sometimeswellintooldage,