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Alcohol consumption and risk of dementia: 23 year follow-up of Whitehall II cohort study
Sabia S, Fayosse A, Dumurgier J, Dugravot A, Akbaraly T, Britton A, Kivimäki M, Singh-Manoux A. BMJ, 2018-08-01
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
This 23-year study found a U-shaped relationship between alcohol and dementia risk: people who abstained from alcohol in midlife, as well as those who drank heavily (more than 14 units, about 14 standard drinks, per week), both had a higher risk of developing dementia than people who drank moderately.
Key findings
- Long-term abstainers had a 47% higher risk of dementia than moderate drinkers (1-14 units/week)
- Among people drinking more than 14 units/week, each additional 7 units/week raised dementia risk by 17%
- People with a CAGE score above 2 (indicating a drinking problem) had more than double the dementia risk (HR 2.19)
- A hospital admission for an alcohol-related condition was linked to more than 4 times the dementia risk (HR 4.28)
Why it matters
Both long-term abstainers and heavy drinkers had higher dementia risk than moderate drinkers, and heavier drinking and signs of a drinking problem raised risk further. This is an observational association, so it cannot prove that moderate drinking itself protects the brain.
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Study details
- Study designcohort
- Participants9,087
- Effect sizeAbstinence vs 1-14 units/week: HR 1.47 (95% CI 1.15-1.89); each 7-unit/week increase in consumption above 14 units/week: HR 1.17 (95% CI 1.04-1.32); CAGE score >2 (problem drinking): HR 2.19 (95% CI 1.29-3.71); hospital admission for alcohol-related disease: HR 4.28 (95% CI 2.72-6.73)
- Evidence strengthModerate
Limitations
Alcohol consumption was self-reported and likely underestimated, especially among heavier drinkers; single UK occupational cohort; the higher risk in abstainers may partly reflect reverse causation (people who already have early health problems tend to quit drinking, i.e., 'sick-quitters').
How this study scored 65/100
Published in a leading specialty journal, and it is a cohort study following people over time. Scored zero for randomised / blinded and indexed in PubMed because the record does not state it. We have no data on journal's citation record, times cited, citations per year, impact for its field and year, still being cited, senior author's track record, institution's track record, multi-centre collaboration and free to read, so those were left out: it earned 40 of the 62 points we could judge it on, which is 65 out of 100.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 9 / 10 | Tier 2 — leading specialty journal (BMJ) |
| Journal's citation record | — / 4 | No journal record from OpenAlex — left out of this score |
| Study design | 7 / 12 | A cohort study following people over time |
| Strength of evidence | 3 / 5 | Rated “moderate” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 2 / 5 | 2018 — within 10 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 3 / 4 | 9,087 participants |
| Effect reported | 3 / 3 | Effect reported with a statistic (interval, p-value, ratio or similar) |
| Studied in people | 3 / 3 | Studied in people (participant count stated) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | — / 7 | No citation count (not found in OpenAlex) — left out of this score |
| Citations per year | — / 5 | No citation count or no year — left out of this score |
| Impact for its field and year | — / 6 | No field-weighted citation impact (OpenAlex has none yet) — left out of this score |
| Cited by studies here | 0 / 6 | No other study in this library cites it |
| Still being cited | — / 4 | No yearly citation counts — left out of this score |
| Senior author's track record | — / 4 | Senior author's record not available — left out of this score |
| Institution's track record | — / 3 | No institution listed in OpenAlex — left out of this score |
| Multi-centre collaboration | — / 3 | Institutions not listed — left out of this score |
| Indexed in PubMed | 0 / 2 | No PubMed ID and no DOI — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Free to read | — / 2 | Access not recorded — left out of this score |
| Points | 40 / 62 | Scored on 11 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 40 of the 62 points we could judge it on is 65 out of 100. |
| Total | 65 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
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Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. This record has no DOI, so the citation leaves it out. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. The record names 8 authors; APA and Vancouver show the first six, BibTeX and the downloads carry all of them. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Sabia, S., Fayosse, A., Dumurgier, J., Dugravot, A., Akbaraly, T., Britton, A., et al. (2018). Alcohol consumption and risk of dementia: 23 year follow-up of Whitehall II cohort study. BMJ.
Vancouver
Sabia S, Fayosse A, Dumurgier J, Dugravot A, Akbaraly T, Britton A, et al. Alcohol consumption and risk of dementia: 23 year follow-up of Whitehall II cohort study. BMJ. 2018.
BibTeX
@article{sabia2018-b8c2bc18,
author = {Sabia, S. and Fayosse, A. and Dumurgier, J. and Dugravot, A. and Akbaraly, T. and Britton, A. and Kivimäki, M. and Singh-Manoux, A.},
title = {{Alcohol consumption and risk of dementia: 23 year follow-up of Whitehall II cohort study}},
journal = {BMJ},
year = {2018}
}
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