\nThere are some people who possess a gene (APOE e4) variant that is a risk factor for Alzheimer\u2019s disease and is associated with generally lower cognitive function (slower processing speed, more difficulty remembering things) and more rapid cognitive decline with age. The researchers in one study<\/a> were looking to see if alcohol can improve the cognitive lives of these folks and reduce cognitive decline since it has such beneficial effects on those without the gene variant.
\nIn a recent study by Downer, Zanjani, and Fardo (2013), they wanted to find out whether alcohol can have protective effects on cognition for people with and without the APOE e4 gene. They also wanted to see whether it mattered if alcohol was consumed during midlife or late life. To do this, they recruited folks from an ongoing longitudinal study, the Framingham Heart Study, and had them answer questions on their alcohol consumption (how many cans of beer, glasses of wine, cocktails per week on average) and complete a number of cognitive tests which measured their visual memory, verbal memory, and new learning.
\nWhat they found was that alcohol consumption during midlife does not affect the trajectory of memory and learning during late life. They also found that those who do not carry the APOE e4 gene variant have improved cognitive outcomes when they have moderate alcohol consumption (7-14 drinks\/week) during late life compared with those who do not drink at all. They found a different result when people with the APOE e4 gene (about 10% of the sample) consumed the same amount of alcohol in late life: they were actually worse off than those with the gene who didn\u2019t drink.<\/p>\n
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Research shows that having 7-14 drinks per week (or 1-2 drinks a day) in late life promotes resiliency against cognitive decline in those without<\/em> the e4 gene.<\/p><\/div>\n This suggests that light to moderate alcohol consumption in late life (65+) is beneficial for those who do not carry the APOE e4 gene \u2013 more so than not drinking at all. This also suggests that those with the gene should not drink as it has an additive effect on an already shaky cognitive trajectory. <\/p>\n Downer, B., Zanjani, F., & Fardo, D. (2013). The relationship between midlife and late life alcohol consumption, APOE e4 and the decline in learning and memory among older adults. Alcohol and Alcoholism<\/i>, 1-6.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" With the holidays quickly approaching, many of us will be reuniting with family members at our grandparents\u2019 houses. Someone will inadvertently spike the punch and then you\u2019ll have grandparents, aunts, and uncles a little on the tipsy side. We\u2019ve all heard that a glass of red wine each day is beneficial for your health but […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3144,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[40864,80215],"tags":[130389,43341],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/cogblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/742"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/cogblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/cogblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/cogblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3144"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/cogblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=742"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/cogblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/742\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":830,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/cogblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/742\/revisions\/830"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/cogblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=742"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/cogblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=742"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/cogblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=742"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nSince the majority of people do not carry the APOE e4 gene, it is probably safe to assume that the senior citizens in your life will be safe to drink this holiday season. You might even want to encourage it! Remember \u2013 it doesn\u2019t matter which alcohol is being consumed. If you want to go out and have your DNA tested for the APOE e4 gene, it\u2019s up to you. If you do happen to have it, the results of this study suggest that you can drink in midlife, but please don\u2019t after you retire.
\nSo this holiday season, don\u2019t be afraid to give your grandma that spiked eggnog or to let your grandpa have his daily bottle of beer \u2013 it may just help improve their cognition!<\/p>\n