U.S. researchers say moderate intake of alcohol may lower the risk of dementia by about 40 percent.

The study, led by Dr. Kaycee Sink of Wake Forest University School of Medicine in Winston-Salem, N.C., was based on 3,069 community-living adults -- age 75 years and older -- enrolled in the Ginkgo Evaluation of Memory Study. At the beginning of the study, 2,587 of the participants were assessed to be cognitively normal and 482 had mild cognitive impairment, but none had dementia.

Alcohol consumption per week was self-reported by study participants and ranged from none to more than 14 drinks.

After adjustment for demographics, smoking, co-morbidities, depression, social activity and baseline cognition, moderate alcohol intake -- especially of wine -- was associated with a 37 percent lower risk of dementia in participants with normal cognition at baseline, but not in those with some cognitive impairment.

"Our findings suggest mild to moderate alcohol intake may reduce the risk of dementia," Sink says in a statement. "Current recommendations not to exceed one drink per day for women and two for men are supported by these results."

The findings were presented at the Alzheimer's Association International Conference on Alzheimer's Disease in Vienna.