Alcohol use, dementia risk, and sex: a systematic review and assessment of alcohol-attributable dementia cases in Europe

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch articleContributedpeer-review

Contributors

  • Carolin Kilian - , Chair of Behavioral Epidemiology, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) (Author)
  • Sinja Klinger - , University of Hamburg (Author)
  • Jürgen Rehm - , Chair of Behavioral Epidemiology, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), University of Hamburg, ASPCAT Public Health Agency of Catalonia, ASPB Public Health Agency of Barcelona, Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University, University of Toronto (Author)
  • Jakob Manthey - , University of Hamburg, Leipzig University (Author)

Abstract

Background: High-risk alcohol use is an established modifiable risk factor for dementia. However, prior reviews have not addressed sex differences in alcohol-related dementia risk. In this systematic review, we take a sex-specific perspective towards the alcohol-dementia link, taking into account the age of dementia onset. Methods: We searched electronic databases for original cohort or case–control studies investigating the association between alcohol use and dementia. Two restrictions were considered: First, studies had to report results stratified by sex. Second, given the fact that the age at dementia onset seems to affect the alcohol-dementia link, studies were required to distinguish between early-onset and late-onset dementia (cut-off: 65 years). Additionally, the contribution of alcohol to dementia incidence was quantified for a set of 33 European countries for the year 2019. Results: We reviewed 3,157 reports, of which 7 publications were finally included and summarised narratively. A lower dementia risk when drinking alcohol infrequent or at moderate levels was found in men (three studies) and women (four studies). High-risk use and alcohol use disorders increased the risk of mild cognitive impairment and dementia, particularly early-onset dementia. Estimating the alcohol-attributable share of incident dementia cases revealed that 3.2% and 7.8% of incident dementia cases were estimated to be attributable to high-risk alcohol use (at least 24 g of pure alcohol per day) in 45-to-64-year-old women and men, respectively. Conclusions: Research to date has paid little attention to the sex-specific link of alcohol and dementia. In the absence of sex-specific research, the established recommendations on high-risk alcohol use should be employed to communicate the alcohol-attributable dementia risk.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Article number246
JournalBMC geriatrics
Volume23
Issue number1
Publication statusPublished - Dec 2023
Peer-reviewedYes

External IDs

PubMed 37098501

Keywords

Sustainable Development Goals

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Keywords

  • Alcohol use, Alcohol use disorder, Dementia, Gender, Sex