Study: Elderly drinkers of wine show higher cognitive skills

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Elderly people who drink wine likely have higher cognitive abilities than those who do not, but the same cannot be said about imbibers of other alcoholic beverages, according to a study.

The study, by a group of researchers led by Mai Kabayama, an assistant professor of community health nursing with Osaka University, was conducted in 2016 and 2017 on 1,217 residents aged around 76 or 86 in Tokyo and Hyogo Prefecture.

The researchers studied the residents’ drinking habits and other traits and evaluated their cognitive functions through memory and attention tests.

The 67 subjects who were wine drinkers had significantly higher cognitive abilities than the remaining 1,150 who did not drink wine, according to the study.

There was, however, no significant difference in the cognitive abilities between drinkers and nondrinkers of six other varieties of alcoholic drinks, including beer and sake.

An earlier scientific report said that drinking wine effectively prevents a decline in cognitive functions, citing the antioxidant effects of certain ingredients, including polyphenols, which are contained in red wine.

“It is conceivable that lovers of wine have a stronger interest in health and well-being, which may have affected our results,” said Yuya Akaki, one of Kabayama’s co-researchers, who attends the Osaka University graduate school. “Further studies are necessary because we have yet to establish that wine can effectively prevent dementia. Excessive drinking has negative effects on cognitive abilities, so moderation is recommended.”

Scientists around the world have been studying the correlation between drinking and cognitive functions, but few have studied possible links with different varieties of alcoholic beverages or elderly subjects, the researchers said.

When all varieties of alcoholic drinks were taken together, a correlation study showed that those who drank alcohol less than one day a week and those who drank between one and six days a week both had significantly higher cognitive abilities than those who did not drink at all.

The research results were presented at an academic meeting of the Japan Geriatrics Society, which opened on June 6 in Sendai.

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