Citation

Byeon H, Lee Y, Lee SY, Lee KS, Moon SY, Kim H, Hong CH, Son SJ, Choi SH. Int. Psychogeriatr. 2014; 27(3): 455-461.

Affiliation

Department of Neurology,Inha University School of Medicine,Incheon,South Korea.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2014, Cambridge University Press)

DOI

10.1017/S104161021400146X

PMID

25119654

Abstract

BACKGROUND: The study's aim was to examine the association of alcohol consumption with verbal and visuospatial memory impairment in older people.

METHODS: Participants were 1,572, aged ≥60 years, in the hospital-based registry of the Clinical Research Center for Dementia of South Korea (CREDOS). Moderate drinking was defined as no more than seven drinks per week and three drinks per day. Memory impairment was defined as performance with more than 1 standard deviation below the mean value on the Seoul Verbal Learning Test and Rey Complex Figure Test.

RESULTS: Those who consumed alcohol moderately, compared with abstainers, had a lower odds of verbal memory impairment (Odds Ratio [OR] = 0.64; 95% Confidence Interval [CI]: 0.46-0.87), adjusting for covariates. Visuospatial memory, however, was not significantly associated with alcohol consumption.

CONCLUSIONS: Moderate alcohol drinking is associated with a reduced likelihood of verbal memory impairment among older people attending memory clinics.

Language: en