Some of the research projects considered in the ANU synthesis study only reported whether participants were 'drinkers' or 'non-drinkers' and did not explore the extent of their drinking.

The meta-analysis also found that the relationship between drinking and dementia was the same for men and women, with light to moderate drinkers showing decreased incidence of dementia regardless of sex.

The report was published in the American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry.