@article {8088, title = {History of alcohol use disorders and risk of severe cognitive impairment: a 19-year prospective cohort study.}, journal = {Am J Geriatr Psychiatry}, volume = {22}, year = {2014}, month = {2014 Oct}, pages = {1047-54}, publisher = {22}, abstract = {

OBJECTIVE: To assess the effects of a history of alcohol use disorders (AUDs) on risk of severe cognitive and memory impairment in later life.

METHODS: We studied the association between history of AUDs and the onset of severe cognitive and memory impairment in 6,542 middle-aged adults born 1931 through 1941 who participated in the Health and Retirement Study, a prospective nationally representative U.S. cohort. Participants were assessed at 1992 baseline and follow-up cognitive assessments were conducted biannually from 1996 through 2010. History of AUDs was identified using the three-item modified CAGE questionnaire. Cognitive outcomes were assessed using the 35-item modified Telephone Interview for Cognitive Status at last follow-up with incident severe cognitive impairment defined as a score <= 8, and incident severe memory impairment defined as a score <= 1 on a 20-item memory subscale.

RESULTS: During up to 19 years of follow-up (mean: 16.7 years, standard deviation: 3.0, range: 3.5-19.1 years), 90 participants experienced severe cognitive impairment and 74 participants experienced severe memory impairment. History of AUDs more than doubled the odds of severe memory impairment (odds ratio [OR] = 2.21, 95\% confidence interval [CI] = 1.27-3.85, t = 2.88, df = 52, p = 0.01). The association with severe cognitive impairment was statistically non-significant but in the same direction (OR = 1.80, 95\% CI = 0.97-3.33, t = 1.92, df = 52, p = 0.06).

CONCLUSION: Middle-aged adults with a history of AUDs have increased odds of developing severe memory impairment later in life. These results reinforce the need to consider the relationship between alcohol consumption and cognition from a multifactorial lifespan perspective.

}, keywords = {Alcohol-Related Disorders, Cognition Disorders, Diagnosis, Dual (Psychiatry), Female, Humans, Incidence, Male, Memory Disorders, Middle Aged, Prospective Studies, Risk Factors, United States}, issn = {1545-7214}, doi = {10.1016/j.jagp.2014.06.001}, url = {http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1064748114001675}, author = {Ku{\'z}ma, El{\.z}bieta and David J Llewellyn and Kenneth M. Langa and Robert B Wallace and Iain A Lang} }