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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.

There’s no “obesity paradox” related to death rates for people with diabetes, a new study concludes. Except for smokers, people who were heavier died earlier, the study found. Some small studies have suggested that people who are a little overweight might have a lower death risk. The new study included 11,000 adults with type 2 diabetes. Researchers kept track of them for about 16 years. A body mass index (BMI) of 18.5 to 24.9 is considered normal. In this study, the lowest BMI, 18.5 to 22.4, was linked with higher death rates than for all groups except the most obese (BMI of 35 or more). But people with a BMI on the higher side of “normal” (22.5 to 24.9) were less likely to die than all other groups. Then researchers looked at the numbers for people who had never smoked and for smokers and ex-smokers.

Follow-up tests may help show when colon cancer has returned after surgery, a new study finds. The study included 1,200 people who had received colon cancer surgery. They were randomly divided into 4 groups. One group received regular CT scans. Another other group got regular tests for a blood protein, called CEA. At abnormal levels, this protein can be a sign of cancer. A third group got both tests. A fourth group had no special follow-up. Researchers kept track of people for an average of 4.4 years. In that time, 2.3% of those in the group who got no special follow-up had a second surgery because of a return of their colon cancer. Similar surgeries were done in 6.7% of the CEA group and 8% of the CT group. The rate of second surgery was 6.6% in the group that got both tests.

“Brain training” may help older adults think clearly, but may not help memory, a new study shows. The study included more than 2,800 people, average age 73. They were randomly divided into 4 groups. Three groups received brain training. The memory group learned strategies to remember words, lists and story details. The reasoning group learned how to solve problems that follow patterns. A third group used a computer program that trained them to find and process visual information quickly. The fourth got no training. People had improvements in these specific skills right after they were trained. Ten years later, researchers were able to track down about half of them and test them again. About 60% of the trained groups and 50% of the untrained group reported being at least as able to handle daily tasks as they were 10 years before.