- 448studies in the library match, of 29,780
- 63name it in the title
- 1983–2026years published
- 435peer-reviewed articles
The query: title or abstract mentions "alcohol", "drinking", "drinkers", "wine", "ethanol" or "binge", matched case-insensitively against each record's title and abstract (its summary field) in alzhub's library of 29,780 study records, as of 2026-11-09. Every count on this page comes from that match. The matched list as JSON.
Alcohol affects dementia risk in more than one way. Alcohol use disorder causes its own form of brain damage and raises the risk of every kind of dementia, often at a younger age. For light and moderate drinking the picture is muddier: some cohort studies report lower dementia rates in moderate drinkers than in abstainers, but people who do not drink include former heavy drinkers and people already unwell, which can make moderate drinking look protective when it is not.
This page describes what published research in alzhub's library reports. It is not medical advice and does not apply to any one person: a doctor who knows the person's history is the only one who can say what a result or a treatment means for them.
What the studies report, in their own words
Whole sentences copied from the abstract or key findings of the highest-scoring matched studies, chosen because they mention the subject and give a figure. 8 of the 448 matched records are quoted; each links to its study page and from there to the paper.
“Liraglutide reduced binge frequency in binge eating disorder (mean difference -1.28, 95% CI: -1.67, -0.89, I2 = 53%) compared to placebo.”
“Among comorbidities and medications, alcoholism and taking benzodiazepines were also associated with dementia with elevated adjusted HRs of 3.05 (95% CI 2.17-4.28) and 1.23 (95% CI 1.14-1.32), respectively.”
“Compared with sustained levels of drinking, reducing alcohol consumption from a heavy to a moderate level (aHR, 0.92; 95% CI, 0.86-0.99) and the initiation of mild alcohol consumption (aHR, 0.93; 95% CI, 0.90-0.96) were associated with a decreased risk of all-cause dementia.”
“The pooled relative risks (RRs) of AD, VaD, and Any dementia for light to moderate drinkers compared with nondrinkers were 0.72 (95% CI = 0.61-0.86), 0.75 (95% CI = 0.57-0.98), and 0.74 (95% CI = 0.61-0.91), respectively.”
“A trend toward greater odds of dementia associated with heavier alcohol consumption was most apparent among men and participants with an apolipoprotein E epsilon4 allele.”
“This impairment was no greater than that tolerated in other segments of the driving population (e.g., drivers age 16 to 21 and those driving under the influence of alcohol at a blood alcohol concentration [BAC] < 0.08%).”
“A high-protein and alcohol dietary pattern was negatively associated with cortical thickness in the whole brain (Beta: -0.011; 95% confidence interval [CI]: -0.018 to -0.003), and with an Alzheimer's disease cortical thickness signature score (Beta: -0.013; 95% CI: -0.024 to -0.001).”
“Observational phenotype-only analyses revealed U-shaped associations between alcohol and dementia risk: higher risk was observed among non-drinkers, heavy drinkers (>40 drinks per week; HR 1.41, 95% CI 1.15 to 1.74), and those with alcohol use disorder (AUD) (HR 1.51, 95% CI 1.42 to 1.60) compared with light drinkers.”
What kind of evidence it is
By study design
| Design (as recorded) | Studies |
|---|---|
| Systematic review or meta-analysis | 25 |
| Randomised controlled trial | 6 |
| Other clinical trial | 2 |
| Cohort or longitudinal study | 71 |
| Case-control study | 11 |
| Cross-sectional study | 27 |
| No design recorded | 306 |
The design is the one named in alzhub's record for the study; a record with none is counted as "no design recorded".
By year
| Year | Studies | Share |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 32 | |
| 2025 | 61 | |
| 2024 | 14 | |
| 2023 | 21 | |
| 2022 | 17 | |
| 2021 | 21 | |
| 2020 | 14 | |
| 2019 | 18 | |
| 2018 | 16 | |
| 2017 | 17 | |
| 2016 and earlier | 217 |
Other counts within the matched set
| Peer-reviewed articles | 435 |
| Marked open access in the record | 145 |
| Rated "high" evidence strength in alzhub's summary | 54 |
| Rated "moderate" evidence strength in alzhub's summary | 109 |
| Rated "low" evidence strength in alzhub's summary | 283 |
| No evidence-strength rating | 2 |
| Records stating a participant count | 148 |
| Median participants (those records) | 1,378 |
| Largest participant count | 6,086,794 |
Within the 448 matched studies
| Studies… | Count | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| …that mention alcohol use disorder or heavy drinking | 79 | the abstract also contains "alcohol use disorder", "heavy drinking" or "alcoholism" |
| …that mention light or moderate drinking | 46 | the abstract also contains "light drinking", "moderate drinking" or "moderate alcohol" |
| …that report a hazard ratio | 39 | the abstract also contains "hazard ratio" or "HR" |
The 10 highest-scoring matched studies
Title matches first, then by alzhub's usefulness score, which rates a study's design, journal, evidence and recency, not whether its result is good news.
- Changes in Alcohol Consumption and Risk of Dementia in a Nationwide Cohort in South Korea
- Alcohol consumption as a risk factor for dementia and cognitive decline: meta-analysis of prospective studies
- Prospective study of alcohol consumption and risk of dementia in older adults
- Association of Lithium in Drinking Water With the Incidence of Dementia
- Alcohol use and risk of dementia in diverse populations: evidence from cohort, case-control and Mendelian randomisation approaches
- Contribution of alcohol use disorders to the burden of dementia in France 2008-13: a nationwide retrospective cohort study
- Alcohol consumption and risk of dementia: 23 year follow-up of Whitehall II cohort study
- Planning for an uncertain future in progressive neurological disease: a qualitative study of patient and family decision-making with a focus on eating and drinking
- Alcohol consumption and risk of dementia: the Rotterdam Study
- Alcohol consumption and sleep quality: a community-based study
Systematic reviews and meta-analyses in the set
25 of the matched records are recorded as a systematic review, meta-analysis or umbrella review; the highest-scoring not already listed above:
- Effect of Glucagon-Like-Peptide-1 Receptor Agonists (GLP-1 RA) on Neuropsychiatric Outcomes: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
- Potentially Modifiable Risk Factors for Dementia and Mild Cognitive Impairment: An Umbrella Review and Meta-Analysis
- Healthy lifestyle and the risk of Alzheimer dementia: Findings from 2 longitudinal studies
- Determinants of cognitive performance and decline in 20 diverse ethno-regional groups: A COSMIC collaboration cohort study
- Epidemiologic studies of modifiable factors associated with cognition and dementia: systematic review and meta-analysis
Newest matched studies
- RNA-sequencing of butyrate-treated human lymphoblastoid cell lines shows dysregulated genes of multiple disease-related pathways
- Clinically Recognised Alcohol Use Disorder and Risk of Dementia Subtypes in 1.3 Million Women: A Prospective Cohort Study
- Patterns of modifiable lifestyle, behavioural and health-related risk factors and their associations with incident dementia in UK Biobank
- Extracellular CIRP induces neurotoxic astrocytes via TREM-1 in Alzheimer’s disease
- Aging and Alcohol Withdrawal Escalate CNS Hyperexcitability Across the Lifespan
Journals with the most matched studies
| Journal | Studies |
|---|---|
| Journal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD | 15 |
| Neurology | 15 |
| Nutrients | 11 |
| Journal of the American Geriatrics Society | 8 |
| Biological psychiatry | 7 |
Questions
- Is moderate drinking good for the brain?
- Cohort studies have reported lower dementia rates in moderate drinkers, but the comparison group of non-drinkers often includes former heavy drinkers and people in poor health, and newer methods that allow for this find less or no benefit. Heavy drinking clearly raises risk.
- How many studies on alcohol and dementia does alzhub hold?
- 448 of the 29,780 study records in alzhub's library match the query "title or abstract mentions "alcohol", "drinking", "drinkers", "wine", "ethanol" or "binge""; 63 of them name it in the title. Counted from the records when this page was built.
- What kinds of study are they?
- 25 systematic review or meta-analysis, 6 randomised controlled trials, 2 other clinical trials, 71 cohort or longitudinal studys, 11 case-control studys, 27 cross-sectional studys; 306 record no design.
- What is the most recent study in the set?
- "RNA-sequencing of butyrate-treated human lymphoblastoid cell lines shows dysregulated genes of multiple disease-related pathways" (bioRxiv, 2026), the newest by publication date among the matched records.
- Which journals publish most on it?
- Journal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD (15); Neurology (15); Nutrients (11), counted across the matched records.
Read on
- PreventionWhat has been properly tested.
- Smoking and dementiaThe other common exposure in the same cohorts.
- Risk factors, rankedAlcohol among the modifiable risks.