Differences in Neurocognitive Functioning Associated with Alcohol Consumption in a Multiethnic Rural Cohort: A Project FRONTIER Study

The current study assessed if a neuroprotective effect on cognition from mild alcohol consumption occurs in multiethnic rural communities and if effect differences occur due to gender or ethnicity. Participants were drawn from Project FRONTIER (Facing Rural Obstacles to healthcare Now Through Intervention, Education & Research), a community-based participatory research study assessing aging in a rural, West Texas, multiethnic cohort of participants aged 40 years and older. Alcohol consumption patterns were determined from Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test responses. Cognitive measures included the Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status. Because few participants had greater than a mild alcohol consumption pattern, only abstinent participants and those with mild consumption were compared (N = 1,004 1st observation; N = 256 2nd observation). Multivariate analysis of covariance revealed main effects for alcohol consumption pattern, gender, and ethnicity. Attention was most affected by alcohol consumption pattern followed by verbal memory. Mild alcohol consumption was associated with better performance in these areas. Gender and ethnicity had broad effects on cognitive abilities but inconsistent attention effects. Overall, mild alcohol consumption was associated with better attentional and other abilities compared with abstinence in a rural multiethnic sample. These findings are consistent with previous research and suggest ethnicity and gender are uninvolved in any alcohol neuroprotective effects. 2016 Copyright