Alcohol use and risk of dementia in diverse populations: evidence from cohort, case–control and Mendelian randomisation approaches
These findings provide evidence for a relationship between all types of alcohol use and increased dementia risk. While correlational observational data suggested a protective effect of light drinking, this could be in part attributable to reduced drinking seen in early dementia; genetic analyses did not support any protective effect, suggesting that any level of alcohol consumption may contribute to dementia risk. Public health strategies that reduce the prevalence of alcohol use disorder could potentially lower the incidence of dementia by up to 16%.
Authors
- Keyrun Adhikari (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9129-1699)
- J. Michael Gaziano (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5384-9767)
- Daniel Levey
- Joel Gelernter (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4067-1859)
- Thomas E. Nichols (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4516-5103)
- Anya Topiwala (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8408-0372)
- Joseph D. Deak (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0540-6080)
- Klaus P. Ebmeier (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5190-7038)
- Stephen Burgess (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5365-8760)
- Steven Bell (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6774-3149)
- Hang Zhou (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2616-923X)
- Murray Stein
Institutions
- Harvard University (US)
- VA Boston Healthcare System (US)
- University of California System (US)
- Yale University (US)
- University of California San Diego (US)
- University of Oxford (GB)
- VA Connecticut Healthcare System (US)
- Cancer Research UK Cambridge Center (GB)
- Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging (GB)
- MRC Biostatistics Unit (GB)
Publication Details
- Journal
- BMJ evidence-based medicine
- Published
- 2025-09-23
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjebm-2025-113913
- Citations
- 10
- Primary Topic
- Alcohol Consumption and Health Effects
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 14.72