Drinking any amount of alcohol is linked to a higher risk of dementia, according to a new study published in BMJ Evidence-Based Medicine.

The research challenges previous findings that suggested light drinking might protect brain health.

Using data from over 550,000 participants in the UK Biobank and the U.S. Million Veteran Program, scientists combined self-reported drinking habits with a genetic method known as Mendelian randomization.

This approach reduced the chance of bias and confirmed that alcohol consumption, even at low levels, raises dementia risk.

The study found that having between one and three drinks per week was associated with about a fifteen percent higher risk of dementia compared to drinking less.

The risk increased further with greater alcohol intake.

A doubling in genetic risk for alcohol dependency was linked to a sixteen percent rise in dementia risk.

Researchers said these findings indicate there may be no safe threshold for alcohol use when it comes to brain health.

While experts cautioned that the results do not definitively prove alcohol directly causes dementia, the evidence adds to a growing body of work showing that alcohol damages neurons and accelerates cognitive decline.

Neurologists noted that individuals with genetic risk factors for Alzheimer’s disease are especially vulnerable, and recommend abstaining entirely from alcohol based on the available data.