Light to moderate drinking may preserve brain function in older age, according to a new study.

The study examined the link between alcohol consumption and changes in cognitive function over time among middle-aged and older adults in the U.S.

«We know there are some older people who believe that drinking a little wine everyday could maintain a good cognitive condition,» said lead author Ruiyuan Zhang, a doctoral student at UGA’s College of Public Health.

«We wanted to know if drinking a small amount of alcohol actually correlates with a good cognitive function, or is it just a kind of survivor bias.»

Regular, moderate alcohol consumption has been shown to promote heart health and some research points to a similar protective benefit for brain health. However, many of these studies were not designed to isolate the effects of alcohol on cognition or did not measure effects over time.

Zhang and his team developed a way to track cognition performance over 10 years using participant data from the nationally representative Health and Retirement Study.

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Materials provided by University of Georgia. Original written by Lauren Baggett. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.