Alcohol Consumption May Protect Against Risk of Alzheimer’s Disease, Particularly in Female Nonsmokers

Amsterdam, The Netherlands –Knowledge regarding environmental factors influencing the risk of Alzheimer's disease is surprisingly scarce, despite substantial research in this area. In particular, the roles of smoking and alcohol consumption still remain controversial. A new study published this month in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease suggests a protective effect of alcohol consumption on the risk of Alzheimer's disease, particularly in women who do not smoke.

Researchers at the University of Valencia, the Generalitat Valenciana, and the Institut Municipal d'Investigació Mèdica, Barcelona, in Spain, carried out a study comparing personal and clinical antecedents of subjects affected with Alzheimer's disease with healthy people, both groups with the same age and gender distribution. Women included in the study were mainly light or moderate alcohol consumers. The risk of Alzheimer’s disease was unaffected by any measure of tobacco consumption, but a protective effect of moderate alcohol consumption was observed, this effect being more evident in nonsmoker women.

"Our results suggest a protective effect of alcohol consumption, mostly in nonsmokers, and the need to consider interactions between tobacco and alcohol consumption, as well as interactions with gender, when assessing the effects of smoking and/or drinking on the risk of AD," according to lead investigator Ana M. Garcia, PhD, MPH, Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, University of Valencia. "Interactive effects of smoking and drinking are supported by the fact that both alcohol and tobacco affect brain neuronal receptors."

García, Ana M, Nieves Ramón-Bou, Miquel Porta.  Isolated and joint effects of tobacco and alcohol consumption on risk of Alzheimer's disease. J Alzheimers Dis 20, 577-586, 2010.

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NOTES FOR EDITORS

Full text of the article is available to journalists upon request. To receive a copy, please contact Astrid Engelen at IOS Press, Tel: +31 20 688 3355, e.mateike@iospress.nl.

STUDY AUTHORS:

Ana M García. University of Valencia, Spain

Nieves Ramón-Bou. Generalitat Valenciana, Valencia, Spain

Miquel Porta. Institut Municipal d'Investigació Mèdica, Barcelona, Spain

Contacts:

George Perry, PhD

Editor-in-Chief, Journal of Alzheimer's Disease

University of Texas at San Antonio, College of Sciences

Tel: +1 210 458 4450

Fax:+1 210 458 4445

E-mail: george.perry@utsa.edu

Mark A. Smith, PhD

Editor-in-Chief, Journal of Alzheimer's Disease

Department of Pathology, Case Western Reserve University

Tel: +1 216 368 3670

Fax: +1 216 368 8964

E-mail: mark.smith@case.edu

Esther Mateike

IOS Press

Tel: +31 20 688 3355

Fax: +31 20 620 3419

e.mateike@iospress.nl

URL: www.j-alz.com