New research suggests regular consumption of one beverage may increase the risk of dementia – cutting it out could significantly reduce your risk of developing it
Sophie Buchan Money and Lifestyle Writer and Lauren Haughey Lifestyle and Money Reporter
16:53, 12 Apr 2026
The drink could increase the risk(Image: Jessie Casson via Getty Images)
If you’re looking to reduce your chances of developing dementia, there’s one particular habit that experts say you should eliminate, or at least significantly reduce.
Research suggests that regular drinking could inflict far greater harm than just leaving you with a sore head the following morning, with mounting evidence indicating it may be seriously damaging your brain health.
The research examined the connection between alcohol and dementia in a 2023 peer-reviewed study conducted by Atrium Health. Scientists employed a ‘chronic drinking approach’ whereby mice were presented with a choice between water or alcohol over a 10-week period.
The American research team was especially interested in exploring how drinking was linked to the onset of Alzheimer’s disease, which accounts for between 60% and 80% of all dementia diagnoses. Their results showed that even ‘modest amounts’ of alcohol were sufficient to ‘accelerate brain atrophy’.
This relates to the shrinkage and degradation of brain tissue, alongside an increase in ‘amyloid plaques’ – damaging proteins strongly linked with Alzheimer’s disease. “These findings suggest alcohol might accelerate the pathological cascade of Alzheimer’s disease in its early stages,” said Associate Professor Shannon Macauley, of Wake Forest University School of Medicine, at the time, reports the Mirror.
“These preclinical findings suggest that even moderate consumption of alcohol can result in brain injury. Alcohol consumption may be a modifiable risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease and dementia”.
Significantly, these results aren’t confined to rodent studies alone. In 2024, researchers at Oxford University identified alcohol as one of the most damaging factors for undermining cognitive function and potentially heightening Alzheimer’s risk.
The research team examined brain scans from 40,000 people to reach this conclusion. Professor Gwenaëlle Douaud, who headed the research, explained: “We know that a constellation of brain regions degenerates earlier in ageing, and in this new study we have shown that these specific parts of the brain are most vulnerable to diabetes, traffic-related air pollution − increasingly a major player in dementia − and alcohol, of all the common risk factors for dementia.
“We have found that several variations in the genome influence this brain network, and they are implicated in cardiovascular deaths, schizophrenia, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases, as well as with the two antigens of a little-known blood group, the elusive XG antigen system, which was an entirely new and unexpected finding.”
Present NHS guidance in the UK emphasises that monitoring your alcohol units can help you maintain control over your drinking habits.
The guidance notes: “14 units is equivalent to 6 pints of average-strength beer or 10 small glasses of lower-strength wine.”
According to Dementia UK: “Dementia is an umbrella term for a range of conditions that affect the brain. There are many different types, subtypes and causes. It is a progressive condition, which means the symptoms always get worse over time.”
The organisation explains: “The most common symptoms of dementia include difficulties with remembering, thinking and speaking, which get worse over time. However, there are many other possible symptoms, and everyone has their own unique experience of the condition.”
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