RESEARCH - Daily Drink Improves Thinking in Older Women

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Daily Drink Improves Thinking in Older Women - Study

Wed Jan 19, 5:06 PM ET

BOSTON (Reuters) - Women who enjoy a drink of beer or wine daily have

sharper minds into old age than women who abstain, U.S. researchers reported

on Wednesday.

The report, based on a study of nearly 12,500 nurses, adds to the apparent

benefits of light to moderate drinking, which can also prevent heart disease

and stroke.

" Our study suggests that moderate consumption might provide older women some

cognitive benefits, " said Dr. Francine Grodstein of Brigham and Women's

Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston, who worked on the study.

Writing in the New England Journal of Medicine, Grodstein and colleagues

said they found that drinkers aged 70 to 81 were 20 percent less likely to

experience a decline in their thinking skills over a two-year period than

women who did not drink at all.

On average, the women who quaffed a beer or a glass of wine each day tended

to have the mental agility of someone a year and a half younger than

abstainers.

Drinking more than one glass of beer or wine didn't produce a greater

benefit, the researchers said. However, few of the nurses in the study were

heavy drinkers.

And it didn't seem to matter whether the women drank wine or beer, according

to the team, led by Dr. Meir Stampfer, also of Brigham and Women's Hospital.

Moderate alcohol consumption -- about a 12-ounce (0.35 liters) beer or a

six-ounce (0.18 liters) glass of wine -- is already known to reduce the risk

of heart disease and stroke.

The Stampfer team speculated that the same effects that ward off

cardiovascular conditions may also keep the blood vessels in the brain

healthier, preventing small strokes that might impair thinking skills.

The researchers used the ongoing Nurses' Health Study, in which the women

filled out questionnaires about drinking habits and took a telephone survey

designed to assess thinking skills.

Whether alcohol produces long-term benefits is not known.

In an editorial in the Journal, Dr. Denis and Dr. Bienias of the

Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, cautioned that the findings are

not conclusive.

It may simply be, they said, " that older persons who are in good cognitive

and physical health may be more likely than less healthy peers to indulge in

low-to-moderate alcohol consumption as part of their social activities. "

(Editing by Tabassum Zakaria; Washington Newsroom 202-898-8300)

http://story.news./news?tmpl=story & cid=594 & e=1 & u=/nm/20050119/hl_nm/hea\

lth_drinking_dc

Oh yeah!

I'll tell you where to go!

Mayo Clinic in Rochester

http://www.mayoclinic.org/rochester

s Hopkins Medicine

http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org