INTERACTIVE EFFECTS OF MODERATE ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION, GENDER, AND APOE ?4 STATUS ON COGNITIVE PERFROMANCE IN HEALTHY OLDER

Abstract

This study sought to evaluate the interactive effects of gender, alcohol consumption, and APOE ?4 on cognitive performance (in 207 healthy, older (50-89) adults). The participants completed a battery of neuropsychological tests that included measures of global cognitive function, memory, processing speed, executive function, and language. After controlling for age, education, years smoking, hypertension status, and GDS, main effects for gender were found in all tested cognitive domains, except language, with females performing better than males. Moderate alcohol consumption showed a significant beneficial association with measures of memory. There was a trend observed for APOE ?4 non-carriers performing better than carriers in global cognitive function. Results also showed significant interactions between APOE genotype and alcohol consumption, as well as gender and alcohol consumption. Particularly, carriers perform better on measures of language when they consume less alcohol, whereas noncarriers perform better with moderate alcohol consumption. Females performed better in measures of processing speed and language with very low alcohol consumption and males performed better with moderate alcohol consumption. Overall, these findings provide preliminary support for the importance of moderate alcohol consumption, gender, and APOE ?4 as factors that may influence observed differences in cognitive aging.