“As Little as 8 Alcoholic Drinks a Week Can Contribute to Dementia, Research Says”

Question

I used the People's website which tens to have bias and not generally a trustworthy source but I was able to find credible information and trustworthy sources within this topic. It is true that 8 drinks per week causes long term dementia and can really affect your health. They did research on people that drank alcohol consistently for years and found that alcohol caused lesions restricting blood flow and overall decreasing health. Everything was backed up by a scientific article showing that it is a fact.

https://people.com/as-little-as-8-alcoholic-drinks-a-week-can-contribute-to-dementia-research-says-11712922#:~:text=Per%20the%20study%2C%20published%20this,associated%20with%20diseases%20like%20Alzheimer's.

Answer 1

I would say the claim is misleading. While the article by Charlotte Phillips cites a study linking heavy alcohol use to brain lesions associated with dementia, it does not provide enough evidence that as few as eight drinks per week directly causes dementia. The study's lead researcher, Alberto Fernando Oliveira Justo, states, "We found heavy drinking is directly linked to signs of injury in the brain," not moderate consumption. Additionally, Dr. Leana Wen clarifies that the findings are "associative" rather than proof of cause and effect, noting, "It is important to point out that these findings are associations that are suggestive, rather than proof of cause and effect." Therefore, the article’s headline exaggerates the findings by implying causation at lower consumption levels than the study addresses.

https://people.com/as-little-as-8-alcoholic-drinks-a-week-can-contribute-to-dementia-research-says-11712922

Answer 2

This is a somewhat true claim, although it is not guaranteed - just more likely. Heavy drinking is now classified as eight or more drinks per week, and after several case studies based on deceased groups who were heavy drinkers, mild, and then non drinkers, the heavy drinkers were more likely to have a brain lesion. This specific brain lesion is associated with Alzheimers disease and causes memory and function loss. These findings are not facts but more so suggestive and linked to this condition and is by no means a guarantee that heavy drinking will cause brain lesions or early death.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27628432/

https://www.cnn.com/2025/04/09/health/heavy-drinking-alcohol-wellness/index.html

Answer 3

In "As Little as 8 Alcoholic Drinks a Week Can Contribute to Dementia, Research Says", they essentially claim that heavy drinkers are more likely to develop brain injuries associated with dementia. 

In the study they reference from The American Academy of Neurology, they found that heavy drinkers had "higher odds of developing tau tangles, a biomarker associated with Alzheimer's disease". As dementia is a term that refers to the decline of mental abilities due to memory loss, to say that alcohol causes Alzheimer's and thus dementia is not wrong. The claim is adequately supported!

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/04/250409173113.htm

Answer 4

The Article “As Little as 8 alcoholic drinks a Week Can Contribute to Dementia, Research Says” by People Magazine indicated a direct link between moderate drinking and a higher risk for brain injury and developing dementia. The original source of People Magazine isn't generally viewed as trusted for medical advice and upon tracing the evidence back to other sources the evidence was slightly exaggerated. The article “Alcohol and risk for dementia” by the Alzheimers Society stated that “Drinking alcohol is linked to reduced volume of the brain's white matter, which helps to transmit signals between different brain regions. This can lead to issues with the way the brain functions.” The Alzheimers society indicated that any amount of alcohol can be harmful to the brain. Yet, their research pointed to amounts generally over 14 servings of alcohol a week carrying a risk. Additionally, Dr Sara Imarisio, Head of Research at Alzheimer’s Research UK studied the link between intake and dementia. She stated, “There’s a well-established link between heavy drinking and the risk of dementia, but it is difficult to say whether moderate alcohol intake has any impact on brain health when compared to not drinking at all.” Both of these sources point towards a challenge in gaining evidence of a direct link between moderate drinking and dementia. Due to this research, I conclude that this headline is over-exaggerated.

https://www.alzheimersresearchuk.org/news/alcohol-later-life-dementia-risk/

https://www.alzheimers.org.uk/about-dementia/managing-the-risk-of-dementia/reduce-your-risk-of-dementia/alcohol#:~:text=Does%20alcohol%20increase%20the%20risk,an%20increased%20risk%20of%20dementia.

Answer 5

According to Alzdiscovery.org, drinking just 5~7 drinks a week can lead to increased risk for Dementia, but highlighted that this number can fluctuate a bit based on how frequent in a week one drinks, and the specific type of alcohol being consumed. The claim that as few as 8 drinks a week can lead to increased chances of Dementia is true

https://www.alzdiscovery.org/cognitive-vitality/blog/how-does-alcohol-affect-dementia-risk

Comments

I agree that the number 8 may not be necessarily true depending on the individual. I like how you say it's more based on how frequent one in a week drinks, however it largely depends on the person's body weight as stated in frequent neurological studies.

Wiegmann, C., Mick, I., Brandl, E. J., Heinz, A., & Gutwinski, S. (2020). Alcohol and Dementia – What is the Link? A Systematic Review. Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment, 16, 87–99. https://doi.org/10.2147/NDT.S198772

Answer 6

The title’s claim is mostly correct. Research recently published in Neurology aligns with the assertion that as little as eight alcoholic drinks per week can contribute to dementia. The study found that consuming eight or more drinks per week is linked to memory and thinking problems, but it did not diagnose dementia or prove that alcohol use directly causes it.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40203226/olic Drinks a Week Can Contribute to Dementia, Research Says”

“As Little as 8 Alcoholic Drinks a Week Can Contribute to Dementia, Research Says”

Answer 7

From doing further research, I have came to the conclusion that 8 alcoholic drinks a week can definitely contribute to dementia. 1 dose of alcohol is roughly 14 grams, if you times that by 8 you are consuming 112 grams of pure alcohol a week. This would put you into the category of a heavy drinker. According to the study, heavy drinkers were at a 133% increased risk of neurofibrillary tangles which is related to Alzheimer's. Although, 8 drinks a week might not seem like a lot, over a long period it can definitely add up and be a detriment to your health.

The source I used was: https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/alcohol-use-could-contribute-to-dementia-by-damaging-the-brain#Heavy-drinkers-face-133-higher-risk-of-brain-damage

Answer 8

The claim that as little as 8 alcoholic drinks can contribute to dementia is true. Although this is true is not a guarantee that if you drink alcohol that it will result in you having dementia. The Alzheimer Study claims that “Despite some claims, drinking alcohol in moderation has not been shown to offer significant protection against developing dementia. So if you do not currently drink alcohol, you should not start as a way to reduce dementia risk.” (Alcohol and the risk of dementia | Alzheimer's Society) Eating well also contributes to this argument by stating “heavy drinkers and former heavy drinkers have much higher odds of brain damage related to brain diseases compared to those who don’t drink. While research is mixed regarding the effects of alcohol on health, it is leaning more and more toward alcohol creating negative health consequences more often than positive ones.” (New Study: Heavy Drinking Increases Dementia Risk). The official Dementia UK site also recommends “The Government and NHS recommend drinking no more than 14 units of alcohol per week. This should be spread across at least three days, with several alcohol-free days each week.” 14 units is around 6 drinks per week. Over that can be seen as dangerous or negatively affect one’s health in neurological ways.(Alcohol and dementia - Dementia UK)

Answer 9

8 alcoholic drinks a week can contribute to dementia. A 2018 study showed that 1-14 drinks per week lowered one's chances of dementia.

sources: https://www.bmj.com/content/362/bmj.k2927

Answer 10

This is not quite true. While it is widely acknowledged that alcohol could be a contributing factor towards dementia, the "risk" that most people state in scientific studies are relative to the group that the study was based off of. Using any pool of subjects, any statement could theoretically be made. There was a study done by the Whitehall II Study Cohort in London which examines long-term health effects based on socioeconomic status of British civil servants wherein results showed that light to moderate drinking (1-14 drinks per week) resulted in a REDUCED risk of dementia compared to those that either completely abstained from drinking or partook in heavier drinking (more than 14 drinks per week). This study was done on a sample of over 9000 subjects of middle-age (35-55) and followed their health for 23 years, as opposed to some other dementia studies which review subjects of 60+ years and on. This study was also reviewed by Kaarin J. Anstey and Ruth Peters, who are funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) and the Dementia Centre for Research Collaboration respectively. The main takeaway is that "risks" found in studies should be taken into consideration alongside the groups that were actually studied and the parameters that have been set. Drinking alcohol can be considered harmful as it has been linked to the increased risk of certain cancers and diseases, but has also been found to reduce said risk. 

Anstey, Kaarin J., and Ruth Peters. "Alcohol and dementia -- risk or protective factor?" Nature Reviews Neurology, vol. 14, no. 11, Nov. 2018, pp. 635+. Gale Academic OneFile, dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41582-018-0073-0. Accessed 25 Apr. 2025.

BMJ 2018;362:k2927

https://www.bmj.com/content/362/bmj.k2927