A new study published in BMJ Evidence-Based Medicine looked at more than 559,000 older adults in the U.S. and U.K. Researchers followed the U.S. group for about four years and the U.K. group for around 13 years.
After adjusting for many other factors, the researchers found that 10,564 people developed dementia during the study period. They also noted that any amount of alcohol raised the risk of dementia, and the more people drank, the higher the risk.
Lead author Dr. Anya Topiwala from the University of Oxford said that even small amounts of alcohol may raise dementia risk, and that moderate drinking is not protective. She added that earlier studies may have been misleading because moderate drinkers often have other advantages, like better education, more money, and better overall health, which can affect brain health.
To dig deeper, the team also studied genetic data from more than 2.4 million people. This helped them see if alcohol itself, not just lifestyle, causes dementia.
The genetic results backed up their findings, showing that people who were genetically more likely to drink had a higher risk of dementia, while nondrinkers had a lower risk. Tripling alcohol intake, for example, from one to three drinks a week, raised the risk by 15 percent. Notably, people with more genes linked to alcohol use disorders had a 16 percent higher risk.
Topiwala explained that heavy drinking can cause a vitamin B1 deficiency that may contribute to dementia. Moreover, alcohol can also directly damage brain cells and blood vessels.
"Our findings highlight the importance of considering reverse causation and residual confounding in studies of alcohol and dementia, and they suggest that reducing alcohol consumption may be an important strategy for dementia prevention," the team concluded.
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April 24, 2026 15:15 ET Economics news flow was relatively light this week even as the conflict in the Middle East continued, raising concerns for policymakers. In the U.S., spending data, initial jobless claims and pending home sales were the highlights. Business confidence in the biggest euro area economy was in focus in Europe. Inflation data from Japan gained attention in Asia.