SEE PROFILE

Background Light-to-moderate alcohol consumption reduces the risk of coronary heart disease and stroke. Because vascular disease is associated with cognitive impairment and dementia, we hypothesised that alcohol consumption might also affect the risk of dementia. Methods We examined the relation between alcohol consumption and risk of dementia in individuals taking part in the Rotterdam Study—a prospective population-based study of 7983 individuals aged 55 years and older. We studied all participants who did not have dementia at baseline (1990–93) and who had complete data on alcohol consumption (n=5395). Through follow-up examinations in 1993–94 and 1997–99 and an extensive monitoring system, we obtained nearly complete follow-up (99·7%) until the end of 1999. We used proportional hazard