Moderate' Drinking May Protect Brain

Middle-aged people who drink moderately -- no more than a glass of wine a day -- may have a relatively lower risk of developing dementia later in life, researchers report.

The study, which followed 9,000 British adults for over two decades, found that both heavier drinkers and abstainers had a higher dementia risk than moderate drinkers.

Moderate drinking was defined according to the recommended drinking limits in the United Kingdom: no more than 14 "units" of alcohol per week. That translates to one medium-sized glass of wine, or roughly a pint of beer, each day.

People who were nondrinkers in middle age were 47 percent more likely to eventually be diagnosed with dementia, versus moderate drinkers, the findings showed.

Meanwhile, when people drank beyond moderate levels, their risk of dementia rose in tandem with their alcohol intake.

More