A new study from Italy finds that drinking of up-to one drink a day, may slow the onset of dementia in people older than 60.

The study looked at “impact of alcohol consumption on the incidence of mild cognitive impairment and its progression to dementia.”, according to researchers Dr. Vincenzo Solfrizzi and Dr. Francesco Panza, from the University of Bari in Italy.

The study, published in the medical journal Neurology, focused on people over 60 and participants between 65 and 84 years of age were followed for 3.5 years. Researchers assessed the occurrence of mild cognitive impairment in 1445 subjects and the onset of dementia in 121 patients with mild cognitive impairment.

For participants with mild cognitive impairment, a drink a day or less lowered dementia risk by a startling 85% compared with those who did not drink.

“Patients with mild cognitive impairment who were moderate drinkers, i.e., those who consumed less than 1 drink/day, had a lower rate of progression to dementia than abstainers. Furthermore, moderate drinkers with mild cognitive impairment who consumed less than 1 drink/day of wine showed a significantly lower rate of progression to dementia than abstainers.”, concluded the study authors

The study also found no relationship between drinking as a cause of dementia, “No significant associations were found between any levels of drinking and the incidence of mild cognitive impairment in non?cognitively impaired individuals vs abstainers.” According to the authors

So next time you have the ONE drink a day, you can say it is literally for your mental health.

Source
Neurology