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------------------------------------------------------------------------ Moderate Alcohol Consumption Boosts Cognitive Function In Women ------------------------------------------------------------------------ WESTPORT, Sep 09 (Reuters) - While heavy alcohol consumption is known to impair cognitive function, new findings suggest that, at least in women, low to moderate drinking may improve cognitive performance. Dr. Carole Dufouil from Hopital La Salpetriere and colleagues there and elsewhere in Paris, France, assessed cognitive function in relation to alcohol consumption in more than 1,300 men and women, 59 to 71 years of age, enrolled in the Epidemiology of Vascular Aging (EVA) Study. The investigators used "structured" interviews to gather information on alcohol intake and a "...battery of 10 neuropsychological tests" to obtain data on cognitive functioning. After controlling for age, education, income, depression and smoking, the team writes in the September 1 issue of the American Journal of Epidemiology, low to moderate alcohol intake of up to four drinks per day was associated with "...better cognitive scores in women." There was "no significant" association between alcohol intake and cognition in men in the study, with one caveat. Drinking more than 5 drinks per day "...was associated with poorer cognitive function." The investigators say these results suggest that the link between alcohol consumption and cognitive ability is "sex-dependent." They theorize that "...in women--but not in men--low to moderate alcohol consumption is a marker of general well-being or of a behavioral pattern associated with good cognitive functioning." Am J Epidemiol 1997;146:405-412. Copyright 1997 Reuters Limited. <http://www.reutershealth.com/news/docs/199709/19970909epa.html> ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [log in to unmask]