Over 7,000 men and women with an average age of 56 from the Whithall 2 cohort study were evaluated for cognitive function. During the period of time the subjects were studied, they were given the alcohol and evaluated a total of 3 times for various cognitive functions...short term memory and comprehension among them.
We normally think that alcohol affects people when taken in fairly high doses as it affects the neurotransmitters in the brain such as opiates, GABA, serotonin, glutamate and dopamine, not to mention what it does to the liver and heart and other organs. What I found astonishing was that the researchers concluded that it only took 36 grams=1.3 ounces of alcohol to cause the cognitive changes! Wow.
The exact same amount of alcohol consumed by women did not cause any measured decrease in cognitive skills. Since the population studied averaged 56 years, we women cannot chalk that difference up to estrogen levels. Maybe the fact that we carry more fat in our bodies than men of equal weight has something to do with it. Seriously, though, regardless of why there is a difference, I take from this study, first, the need for more research into this topic and two, that older men need to cut down on their alcohol intake...by a lot. It probably wouldn't hurt for everyone, no matter what their age, to do the same.
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