Dementia Risk Exacerbated by Alcohol Use Disorders

Alcohol use disorders are significantly associated with a higher risk of dementia, according to a recent study.

For their study, the researchers assessed 31,624,156 adults aged 20 years or older who were discharged from French hospitals between 2008 and 2013, examining the characteristics of early-onset dementia in prevalent cases.
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In addition, multivariate Cox models were used to evaluate associations of alcohol use disorders and other risk factors with dementia onset among patients with no record of dementia between 2008 and 2010.

Dementia was diagnosed in 1,109,343 patients, all of whom were included in the present analysis. A total of 57,353 of these cases were early-onset dementia, of which most were alcohol related (n = 22,338) or had an additional diagnosis of alcohol use disorders (n = 10,115).

Ultimately, the researchers found that alcohol use disorders were the strongest modifiable risk factor for dementia onset (hazard ratio [HR] 3.34 for women, 3.36 for men) and were significantly associated with all other risk factors for dementia onset. These associations remained significant following adjustment.

“Alcohol use disorders were a major risk factor for onset of all types of dementia, and especially early-onset dementia,” the researchers concluded. “Thus, screening for heavy drinking should be part of regular medical care, with intervention or treatment being offered when necessary. Additionally, other alcohol policies should be considered to reduce heavy drinking in the general population.”

—Christina Vogt

Reference:

Schwarzinger M, Pollock BG, Hasan OSM, Dufouil C, Rehm J; QalyDays Study Group. Contribution of alcohol use disorders to the burden of dementia in France 2008–13: a nationwide retrospective cohort study [Published online February 20, 2018]. Lancet Public Health. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2468-2667(18)30022-7.