Heavy Drinking May Speed Mental Decline

Years of heavy drinking in middle age can lead to faster mental decline in later life for men, results of a long-term study suggest. The study included 5,054 men and 2,099 women. They were asked about their drinking habits 3 times in 10 years. Then, in their mid-50s, they took a mental-skills test. It assessed memory and executive function, which includes reasoning and planning abilities. They repeated the test twice in the next 10 years. Mental decline occurred about 1½ to 6 years faster in men who had at least 2½ drinks a day (36 grams of alcohol) than in men who drank less. No such differences were seen for women, however. Researchers said there were not enough heavy drinkers among women in the study to show any clear effects for them. The journal Neurology published the study January 15. The Associated Press and HealthDay News wrote about it.