Red wine and Alzheimer’s disease:
The relationship between alcohol consumption and risk of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and dementia associated with stroke (DAS) was analyzed within a cohort study of 980 participants aged 65 and older. Dementia was diagnosed using Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, criteria and classified as AD or DAS. After 4 years of follow-up, 260 individuals developed dementia (199 AD, 61 DAS). Consumption of up to 3 servings of wine daily was associated with a lower AD risk (Hazard ratio = 0.55). Liquor, beer, and total alcohol were not associated with a lower risk of AD. In this study, red wine did not appear to protect those with the APOE-epsilon 4 allele, which is a genotype established as a risk factor for both sporadic and familial Alzheimer’s disease. The relationship between wine consumption and lower risk of AD was seen only in individuals without the APOE-epsilon 4 allele. (10)