Alcohol Crackdown Unlikely to Tackle Dementia
20 August 2024
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Government and Institutions
Kristian Niemietz writes for The Telegraph
20 August 2024
Government and Institutions
Economic Theory
11 November 2024
Christopher Snowdon writes for The Critic
IEA Head of Lifestyle Economics Christopher Snowdon has written for The Critic discussing a new Lancet study linking alcohol use to dementia.
Christopher wrote:
“Ploughing through the enormous literature of observational lifestyle epidemiology, the authors conclude that 45 per cent of dementia cases worldwide are preventable, in theory at least. They include hearing loss and bad eyesight. Are these not just symptoms of old age? Apparently not. The authors assure us that epidemiologists have concluded that they are independent risk factors. And indeed it seems that the use of hearing aids by people who are a bit deaf helps prevent the onset of dementia.
“Air pollution is also a risk factor, they say, although most of the studies they cite report small or statistically insignificant effects. No matter. For the purposes of the Lancet, these associations are assumed to be real and causal.
“The authors’ faith in observational epidemiology suddenly — and quite tellingly — breaks down when they discuss alcohol. There is a lot of evidence that moderate drinking significantly reduces dementia risk. A meta-analysis published in 2022 found that moderate-to-heavy drinkers are 38 per cent less likely to get dementia than people who have never drunk. The Lancet authors mention that meta-analysis, but attempt to dismiss it with the claim that ‘some people who are counted as non-drinkers were previously heavy drinkers’.”
Read Christopher’s full piece here.
Christopher wrote:
“Ploughing through the enormous literature of observational lifestyle epidemiology, the authors conclude that 45 per cent of dementia cases worldwide are preventable, in theory at least. They include hearing loss and bad eyesight. Are these not just symptoms of old age? Apparently not. The authors assure us that epidemiologists have concluded that they are independent risk factors. And indeed it seems that the use of hearing aids by people who are a bit deaf helps prevent the onset of dementia.
“Air pollution is also a risk factor, they say, although most of the studies they cite report small or statistically insignificant effects. No matter. For the purposes of the Lancet, these associations are assumed to be real and causal.
“The authors’ faith in observational epidemiology suddenly — and quite tellingly — breaks down when they discuss alcohol. There is a lot of evidence that moderate drinking significantly reduces dementia risk. A meta-analysis published in 2022 found that moderate-to-heavy drinkers are 38 per cent less likely to get dementia than people who have never drunk. The Lancet authors mention that meta-analysis, but attempt to dismiss it with the claim that ‘some people who are counted as non-drinkers were previously heavy drinkers’.”
Read Christopher’s full piece here.
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