Heavy alcohol consumption is associated with higher risk of vascular disease, which, in turn, may increase the risk of cognitive impairment

The study findings are in line with previous research and with accepted guidelines. According to Dr. Sabia, drinking fewer than 2-3 drinks a day for men and 1-2 drinks for women is "probably not deleterious" for cognitive outcomes. But these "safe limits" may be too high for older people because of the physiologic and metabolic changes related to aging, said Dr. Sabia. She pointed to recent evidence from a UK Royal College of Psychiatrists report (page 8) that suggests that the upper limit for those older than 65 years is 1.5 units per day or 11 units per week (1 unit = 8 grams). Some countries have specific consumption guidelines for the elderly. For example, said Dr. Sabia, the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) recommends that people older than 65 years not consume more than 7 drinks a week, and that they have no more than 3 drinks on any given day.
Middle-aged men who drink 36 grams or more of alcohol a day, or a little more than 2 and a half standard drinks, are more likely to experience faster decline in all cognitive areas ― but especially memory ― during a period of 10 years, translating into 5.7 years of extra cognitive aging, a new study suggests. The association for women in the study is less clear, although women who drink 19 or more grams per day of alcohol may experience faster decline in executive function. Interestingly, women who abstain from drinking also have faster declines in certain cognitive domains. "Excessive alcohol consumption is known to have detrimental short- and long-term effects on the brain, but the effect of consumption of around 3 to 4 drinks per day is less clear," said lead author Séverine Sabia, PhD, Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University College London, United Kingdom. Unlike much of the previous research on the impact of alcohol consumption on cognition, the current study included middle-aged persons. "The elderly may have reduced their alcohol consumption due to health concerns," said Dr. Sabia. "In many of the previous studies, the effect of heavy drinking was difficult to assess due to the small number of heavy drinkers."
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