Drinking linked to faster mental decline in men [View all]
Source: Associated Press
Jan 15, 4:01 PM EST
Drinking linked to faster mental decline in men
By MALCOLM RITTER
AP Science Writer
NEW YORK (AP) -- Middle-aged men risk a faster mental decline as they age if they've been drinking heavily for years, new research suggests.
The study of about 5,000 British civil servants found that over a decade, the added decline was the equivalent of about two extra years of aging for a combined measure of mental abilities like reasoning, and about six years for memory. The heavy drinkers' abilities were compared to those of men who drank moderately or abstained.
It's no surprise that heavy alcohol consumption can affect the brain, but the study focuses on an age range that has received much less attention from alcohol researchers than the elderly and college students.
The work was published online Wednesday by the journal Neurology. Researchers found no such effect in women, but the study included too few female heavy drinkers to test the effect of drinking the same amount as in men, said Severine Sabia, a study author from University College London.
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