Two beers a day ‘may lower risk of dementia’

Drinking two pints a day could lower the risk of dementia, according to a study.

Researchers have found those who drink up to two pints a day are a third less likely to get the condition compared to those who abstain from alcohol completely.

A team of experts from New South Wales University in Australia studied the drinking habits and dementia rates of 24,478 people aged over 60.

The study found light to moderate drinkers who drank between one and two drinks a day seemed to have a reduced dementia risk, while abstaining from alcohol appeared to provide no protective benefits against the condition .

However, the researchers also noted excessive drinking was dangerous.

The study, led by Dr Louise Mewton and published in the journal Addiction, said: “In contrast to heavy use, population-based studies have often found that light-to-moderate alcohol use appears to reduce dementia risk when compared with abstinence.

“The current study found consistent evidence to suggest that abstinence from alcohol in later life is associated with increased dementia risk internationally.”

However, researchers also warned there was evidence to suggest even low levels of alcohol use were associated with poorer brain health, as well as “dose–response relationships between alcohol use and other health outcomes, including some cancers”.

“For these reasons, advising those who currently abstain to initiate drinking is not recommended,” they wrote.

“In dose–response analyses, moderate drinking up to 40g/day [equivalent of five units] was associated with a lower risk of dementia when compared with life-time abstaining.”

The team of researchers gathered data from 15 old studies from countries situated in six different continents.

The cohort of 24,478 people was divided into five different categories: abstainers who drank no alcohol, occasional drinkers (1.3g of ethanol per day), light to moderate drinkers (1.3g to 25g per day), moderate to heavy drinkers (25g to 45g per day) and heavy drinkers (more than 45g per day).

One pint of beer contains about 16 grams of ethanol.

Those who drank between one and two pints a day saw their dementia risk fall by 38 per cent compared to teetotallers, while occasional and light to moderate drinkers were 22 per cent less likely to develop the condition.

At the beginning of the study, none of the participants had dementia but 2,124 cases were diagnosed with the condition by the end.