Alcohol Cessation in Late Life is Associated with Lower Risk of Cognitive Impairment among the Older Adults in China.

Xiao Chang Zhang; Xiang Gao; Yue Bin Lyu; Jin Hui Zhou; Yuan Wei; Zhao Xue Yin; Ji Xiang MA; Chen Mao; Xiao Ming Shi

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Alcohol Cessation in Late Life is Associated with Lower Risk of Cognitive Impairment among the Older Adults in China.

Author: Xiao Chang ZHANG ^{1
,

2} ; Xiang GAO ³ ; Yue Bin LYU ⁴ ; Jin Hui ZHOU ⁴ ; Yuan WEI ⁴ ; Zhao Xue YIN ² ; Ji Xiang MA ⁵ ; Chen MAO ⁶ ; Xiao Ming SHI ^{1
,

7}
Author Information

1. National Institute of Environmental Health, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing 100021, China
2. Division of Non-communicable Disease and Ageing Health Management, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing 102206, China.
3. Nutritional Epidemiology Lab, Pennsylvania State University, Philadelphia 16801, PA, USA.
4. National Institute of Environmental Health, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing 100021, China.
5. Center for Disease Control and Prevention of Shandong Province, Jinan 250014, Shandong, China.
6. Division of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, Guangdong, China.
7. Center for Global Health, School of Public Health, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 211166, Jiangsu, China.
Publication Type:Journal Article
Keywords: Aging; Alcohol abstinence; Alcohol drinking; Cognition; Epidemiology
MeSH: Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Alcohol Abstinence; Alcohol Drinking; China; Cognition; Cognitive Dysfunction/epidemiology*; Female; Health Behavior; Humans; Longitudinal Studies; Male; Mental Status and Dementia Tests; Risk
From: Biomedical and Environmental Sciences 2021;34(7):509-519
CountryChina
Language:English
Abstract: Objective:Evidence regarding alcohol consumption and cognitive impairment is controversial. Whether cessation of drinking alcohol by non-dependent drinkers alters the risk of cognitive impairment remains unknown. This study prospectively evaluated the potential association between the history of lifetime alcohol cessation and risk of cognitive impairment.
Methods:This study included 15,758 participants age 65 years or older, selected from the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey (CLHLS) that covered 23 provinces in China. Current alcohol use status, duration of alcohol cessation, and alcohol consumption before abstinence were self-reported by participants; cognitive function was evaluated using Mini-mental State Examination (MMSE). Cause-specific hazard models and restricted cubic splines were applied to estimate the effect of alcohol use on cognitive impairment.
Results:Among the 15,758 participants, mean (± SD) age was 82.8 years (± 11.9 years), and 7,199 (45.7%) were males. During a mean of 3.9 years of follow-up, 3,404 cases were identified as cognitive impairment. Compared with current drinkers, alcohol cessation of five to nine years [adjusted
Conclusion:A longer duration of alcohol cessation was associated with a lower risk of cognitive impairment assessed by MMSE. Alcohol cessation is never late for older adults to prevent cognitive impairment.