OBJECTIVE Heavy alcohol consumption is associated with poorer cognitive function in older adults. Although understudied in middle-aged adults, the relationship between alcohol and cognition may also be influenced by genetics such as the apolipoprotein (ApoE) e4 allele, a risk factor for Alzheimer's disease. We examined the relationship between alcohol consumption, ApoE genotype, and cognition in middle-aged adults and hypothesized that light and/or moderate drinkers (≤2 drinks per day) would show better cognitive performance than heavy drinkers or non-drinkers. Additionally, we hypothesized that the association between alcohol use and cognitive function would differ by ApoE genotype (e4+ vs. e4-). METHOD Participants were 1266 men from the Vietnam Era Twin Study of Aging (VETSA; M age = 56; range 51-60) who completed a neuropsychological battery assessing seven cognitive abilities: general cognitive ability (GCA), episodic memory, processing speed, executive function, abstract reasoning, verbal fluency, and visuospatial ability. Alcohol consumption was categorized into five groups: never, former, light, moderate, and heavy. RESULTS In fully adjusted models, there was no significant main effect of alcohol consumption on cognitive functions. However, there was a significant interaction between alcohol consumption and ApoE e4 status for GCA and episodic memory, such that the relationship of alcohol consumption and cognition was stronger in e4 carriers. The e4+ heavy drinking subgroup had the poorest GCA and episodic memory. CONCLUSIONS Presence of the e4 allele may increase vulnerability to the deleterious effects of heavy alcohol consumption. Beneficial effects of light or moderate alcohol consumption were not observed.
#1Emilie T. Reas(UCSD: University of California, San Diego)H-Index: 13
#2Gail A. Laughlin(UCSD: University of California, San Diego)H-Index: 65
Last. Linda K. McEvoy(UCSD: University of California, San Diego)H-Index: 66
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OBJECTIVE: The apolipoprotein E (APOE) gene is an established risk factor for sporadic Alzheimer's disease, with elevated risk for e4-carriers and reduced risk for e2-carriers. However, it is unclear whether APOE modifies risk for cognitive decline in normal aging. The objective of this study was to determine whether e2 and e4 are associated with rates of normal cognitive aging, and whether associations of e4 with cognitive decline are modified by sex, education or health behaviors (exercise, al...
Consuming any amount of alcohol can have negative consequences, especially for older adults with chronic health conditions. Alcohol and Aging: Clinical and Public Health Perspectives brings to ligh...
Abstract Introduction Apolipoprotein E ( APOE ) is a susceptibility gene for late-onset Alzheimer's disease neuropathology; less is known about the relationship between APOE and cerebrovascular disease (CVD) neuropathology. Methods We investigated associations of APOE status with arteriolosclerosis, macroinfarcts and microinfarcts, and atherosclerosis in 1383 adults (65.9–108.2 years at death) with and without dementia. Excluding e2/e4 carriers, multivariable regressions for each CVD-related neu...
#1Danielle Herring(UCF: University of Central Florida)H-Index: 2
#2Daniel Paulson(UCF: University of Central Florida)H-Index: 11
ABSTRACTObjectives: Substantive past research suggests that moderate alcohol use confers beneficial health outcomes. The study of moderate alcohol use and cognition has produced variable findings. The primary goal was to examine the relationship between alcohol use and cognitive aging over time (Experiment 1), in a demographically representative, longitudinal survey of older adults. Experiment 2 examined the hypothesis that apolipoprotein E-4 (ApoE-4) would moderate the relationship between mode...
Studies show that light to moderate alcohol consumption is related to better health and higher cognitive performance. However, it has been suggested that this association is caused by a systematic bias in the control group as many people abstain from drinking or quit because of health issues. Therefore, the group of non-drinkers is biased towards poor health and may not be suitable as a control group. The present study examined the effect of alcohol on cognitive performance while addressing this...
Last. William S. Kremen(UCSD: University of California, San Diego)H-Index: 70
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: Research on executive functions (EFs) has revealed that individual differences in general EF abilities are highly correlated across the first few decades of life, especially at the level of genetic influences. Our work has also provided evidence for substantial heritability of this Common EF factor in midlife, but it remains unclear whether individual differences in Common EFs continue to show strong stability in middle age. We examined data from 1,464 middle-aged twins from the Vietnam Era Tw...
Objectives To investigate whether moderate alcohol consumption has a favourable or adverse association or no association with brain structure and function. Design Observational cohort study with weekly alcohol intake and cognitive performance measured repeatedly over 30 years (1985-2015). Multimodal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was performed at study endpoint (2012-15). Setting Community dwelling adults enrolled in the Whitehall II cohort based in the UK (the Whitehall II imaging substudy). ...
#1Raj K. Kalapatapu(SFVAMC: San Francisco VA Medical Center)H-Index: 8
#2Maria I. Ventura(UCSF: University of California, San Francisco)H-Index: 7
Last. Deborah E. Barnes(SFVAMC: San Francisco VA Medical Center)H-Index: 56
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ABSTRACTSubstance use is an important clinical issue in the older adult population. As older adults are susceptible to cognitive disorders, the intersection of the fields of substance use and cognitive neuroscience is an active area of research. Prior studies of alcohol use and cognitive performance are mixed, and inconsistencies may be due to under- or over-adjustment for confounders. This article adds to this literature by conducting a secondary analysis of self-reported lifetime history of al...
Last. Linda K. McEvoy(UCSD: University of California, San Diego)H-Index: 66
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To better understand the association of alcohol intake with cognitively healthy longevity (CHL), we explored the association between amount and frequency of alcohol intake and CHL among 1,344 older community-dwelling adults. Alcohol intake was assessed by questionnaire in 1984-1987. Cognitive function was assessed in approximate four-year intervals between 1988 and 2009. Multinomial logistic regression, adjusting for multiple lifestyle and health factors, was used to examine the association betw...
Abstract Age, apolipoprotein E e4 (APOE) and chromosomal sex are well-established risk factors for late-onset Alzheimer’s disease (LOAD; AD). Over 60% of persons with AD harbor at least one APOE-e4 allele. The sex-based prevalence of AD is well documented with over 60% of persons with AD being female. Evidence indicates that the APOE-e4 risk for AD is greater in women than men, which is particularly evident in heterozygous women carrying one APOE-e4 allele. Paradoxically, men homozygous for APOE...