Other data indicate that alcohol abuse in mid-life may exacerbate age-related cognitive decline and subsequent occurrence of dementia after age 65. For instance, a population-based study conducted in Australia showed that depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety, cerebrovascular disease, smoking, and alcohol dependence occurring during the mid-life decade of 55–65 years of age were all associated with significantly greater occurrence of dementia in people aged 65–69 (Zilkens, Bruce, Duke, Spilsbury, & Semmens, 2014). In that study, alcohol dependence showed an odds ratio of 4.14 (414% increase in probability) for development of dementia at age 65 that declined to 1.51 (51% increase in probability) by age 80 suggesting that the impact of alcohol on dementia risk is age-dependent both in terms of mid-life exposure and age of disease expression. Overall, evidence suggests that alcohol abuse may exacerbate age-related cognitive decline and dementia in older adults but the specific conditions under which these negative health consequences emerge and the underlying neural mechanisms remain to be fully characterized.
