Open Access<p>Alcohol and Dementia – What is the Link? A Systematic Review</p>
Author(s) -
Caspar Wiegmann,
Inge Mick,
Edenilson Brandl,
Andreas Heinz,
Stefan Gutwinski
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
neuropsychiatric disease and treatment
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.819
H-Index - 67
eISSN - 1178-2021
pISSN - 1176-6328
DOI - 10.2147/ndt.s198772
Subject(s) - dementia , medicine , epidemiology , neurotoxicity , alcohol consumption , alcohol , risk factor , mechanism (biology) , environmental health , gerontology , disease , toxicity , biochemistry , chemistry , philosophy , epistemology
Dementia is a globally increasing health issue and since no cure is currently available, prevention is crucial. The consumption of alcohol is a controversially discussed risk factor for dementia. While many previously published epidemiological studies reported a risk reduction by light to moderate alcohol consumption, there is no persuasive model of an underlying biochemical mechanism. The purpose of this article is to review current models on alcohol neurotoxicity and dementia and to analyze and compare studies focusing on the epidemiological link between alcohol consumption and the risk of dementia.