Alcohol abuse and dementia

Elderly outpatients on the register of the Alzheimer's Disease clinic at Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, were screened for alcohol abuse, the aim being to assess the rôle of alcohol in their dementia. Twenty one percent were found to be heavy drinkers or alcohol abusers, at some time in the past. Sixty-four percent of these had been actively drinking at the time of onset of first symptoms of the dementia. Clinicians need to be alert to the possibility that alcohol may be an aetiological factor in their elderly patients presenting with dementia.