Smoking, Alcohol and Dementia
Reviewed January 2021
Smoking and drinking increases dementia risk
Giving up smoking significantly reduces risk of dementia
Be moderate with drinking
There is some pretty clear advice about smoking and alcohol relating to dementia, and some suggestions that probably work if you want to reduce or delay symptoms of dementia. It can be represented as “victim blaming” if you say that someone with dementia, or any illness, could have behaved differently in advance to delay or prevent their illness, but the facts are there. Excessive use of alcohol is one of the few known avoidable dementia causes (along with repeated head trauma from sports) and smoking really doesn’t help. The good news is that it is never too late to reduce this risk factor. It will help a person even after they have a diagnosis of dementia. But if you can, act now, before it affects your health.
Don’t smoke
It would be better if you never had, but improvements will start the day you give up.
There is strongest evidence in the case of heavy smokers. If you give up in middle age, the risk of dementia after 20 years is the same as if you never smoked. That means you could reduce your risk to the same level as average. There is a clear link with the health of your blood circulation system (the problem that causes vascular dementia), but it is also linked to increased risk of Alzheimer’s disease, the commonest cause of dementia.
Alcohol Related Brain Damage (ARBD)
There is clear evidence in the case of heavy smokers. If you give up in middle age, the risk of dementia after 20 years is the same as if you never smoked
Alcohol Related Brain Damage (ARBD) is the only really preventable form of dementia. Women’s brains are more vulnerable to alcohol and women who drink “in moderation” have an increased risk of mild cognitive impairment. People who indulge in binge drinking such as having a heavy session once a month are more likely to experience problems and fortnightly binging doubles the risk. People of all ages need to take care but drinking in older age presents its own problems.
There is some research that shows having one glass of red wine a day can have beneficial effects. I prefer champagne. Fortunately some not so recent research from the University of Reading suggests that people over forty would be wise to drink two or three glasses of bubbly a week. Hurrah! That research was done with rats, but I don’t care. It is good enough evidence for me! Joking apart.. the point is to be moderate, if you have alcohol at all. It is sometimes difficult to count what you've had. Keep a diary.
Management of drinking and smoking
If the management of drinking and smoking is challenging for you, remember that there are help lines and organisations there to support you which you can contact via your GP or searching the internet for your local support group.
If you would like more information, you can buy my book Dementia, the One Stop Guide or Care Homes: When, Why and How to Choose a Care Home. I am available for consultancy for families or organisations. And if you have any further queries or questions, or suggestions for something you’d like to see me write on, please contact me via the Contact Page
See my new course on Dementia the One Stop Guide on Policy Hub here
