Men: More Alcohol Means Less Memory Later in Life

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Men now have another reason to ease up on their daily drinking -- if they remember it.

A study published this week in the journal Neurology asserts males who drink more than 36 grams of alcohol a day -- the equivalent of about 30 oz. of regular beer or 2.5 shots of distilled spirits or liquor -- risk losing their memories much faster than men who don't.

A study on the impact of excessive alcohol use on the cognitive functions of women was inconclusive.

The study, which looked at the alcohol consumption of more than 5,000 men and 2,000 women in the United Kingdom, suggests lighter drinking does not contribute to cognitive decline.

Other research has suggested light or moderate drinking may actually be better for aging brains than not partaking of any alcohol at all, but the new study did not show that, lead researcher Séverine Sabia, an epidemiologist at University College-London, said in a statement.

"The findings are in agreement with previous studies and suggest that moderate alcohol consumption is probably not deleterious for cognitive outcomes," Sabia said.

The study participants, all aged at least 45 when the experiment started, told researchers how much they drank then, a decade later, tested their memories and executive thinking, typically used in planning, organizing and regulating behavior.

Researchers said they detected no major differences in cognitive skills among men who abstained, quit drinking during the study or had up to two drinks a day.

The men who averaged 36 grams or more of alcohol a day, or 2.5 drinks, lost more ground on memory tests at a rate close to six years, faster than other men.

In the United States, health officials at the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say they define "a drink" as 14 grams of alcohol, the amount in 12 ounces of beer, 5 ounces of wine or a 1.5-ounce shot of liquor.

Moderate drinking is defined as up to two drinks a day for men, but just one drink for women, as the same amount of alcohol typically affects women more strongly.