Op een congres van de American academy of Neurology is onderzoek gepresenteerd dat laat zien dat Alzheimer eerder optreed bij mensen die roken of alcohol gebruiken. De combinatie van roken en alcohol geeft meer risiko dan de twee afzonderlijk. (Alzheimer Nederland / Wikipedia)

Heavy drinking and smoking is associated with a significantly earlier age of development of late-onset Alzheimer’s disease, according to findings presented April 16 at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Neurology.

In a retrospective analysis of 686 patients diagnosed with possible or probable Alzheimer’s disease, people who were heavy drinkers, defined as having more than two drinks of wine, beer, or spirits per day, developed Alzheimer’s 5 years earlier than those who were not drinkers (onset 71 vs. 76 years).

People who smoked at least a pack of cigarettes per day developed the disease 2 years sooner than nonsmokers (73 vs. 75 years).

The combination of heavy drinking and smoking reduced the age at onset by 6 to 7 years, compared with those who did not drink or smoke heavily, lead investigator Dr. Ranjan Duara, medical director of the Wien Center for Alzheimer’s Disease and Memory Disorders, Mount Sinai Medical Center, Miami Beach, and associates reported in a poster.

Genetic testing revealed that 27% of patients were positive for the apolipoprotein-epsilon (APOE) 4 allele, which has long been considered a risk factor for Alzheimer’s. Patients with APOE-epsilon4 developed the disease 3 years sooner than those without the gene variant. Gender had no significant influence on age of onset.

“These may be potentially important public health measures to reduce the prevalence of Alzheimer’s disease, especially among those with increased genetic risk,” Dr. Duara said during a press briefing at the meeting.