Alcohol raises the risk of developing dementia, regardless of whether people are genetically predisposed to this neurodegenerative condition.

The latest large-scale study confirms that even moderate alcohol consumption may pose a health threat. Despite occasional headlines suggesting benefits of low-level drinking, research has consistently shown that no amount of alcohol is safe for our health.

“For anyone who chooses to drink, our study shows that higher alcohol consumption leads to a higher risk of developing dementia,” said Stephen Burgess, a statistician at the University of Cambridge, in a statement.

The study, published in BMJ Evidence-Based Medicine, included around 560,000 people in the UK and US who were followed for several years, as well as genetic data from about 2.4 million people.

In the first phase, researchers asked participants how much they drank and then examined the link between alcohol consumption and dementia risk, Euronews reported. They also analyzed genetic markers associated with alcohol intake to assess its cumulative effects over a lifetime.

The findings showed that the higher the genetic risks associated with alcohol, the greater the risk of dementia. For example, someone who drinks three times per week has a 15% higher chance of developing dementia compared to someone who drinks once a week.

“Genetic data does not support a protective effect [from alcohol] — in fact, it suggests the opposite,” said Anya Topiwala, one of the study’s authors and a senior clinical researcher at the University of Oxford.

The study does not conclusively prove that alcohol causes dementia, but only indicates an association, cautioned Tara Spires-Jones, director of the Centre for Discovery Brain Sciences at the University of Edinburgh, who was not involved in the study.

However, “fundamental neurobiological research has shown that alcohol is directly toxic to neurons in the brain,” she added.

In a previous brain imaging study, scientists found that consuming one or two units of alcohol per day was linked to reduced brain volume and structural changes, which may be associated with memory loss and dementia.

The authors of the latest study said their findings add further evidence that avoiding alcohol can bring substantial health benefits.

“Reducing alcohol consumption at the population level could play a significant role in preventing dementia,” Topiwala said.