4 ms·
Before we rush to conclusions and make up just-so stories, note this passage from the research: "The relationship between cognitive function and lifestyle fact
by kelthuzad 2y ago
Before we rush to conclusions and make up just-so stories, note this passage from the research:
"The relationship between cognitive function and lifestyle factors such as alcohol consumption and smoking
proved complex. Individuals who abstained from alcohol
showed lower cognitive scores than those who consumed
alcohol, conflicting with previous research[1] that has
connected moderate drinking with cognitive impairment"
[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Just-so_story https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Just-so_story
[1] Topiwala A, Allan CL, Valkanova V, et al. Moderate alcohol
consumption as risk factor for adverse brain outcomes and cognitive
decline: longitudinal cohort study. BMJ 2017;357:j2353.
- piker 2y agoYes, the parent comment incorporated and was consistent with that. I.e., there's something confounding these results. It then hypothesized the confounder.
- bell-cot 2y agoFirst Reaction: These days, less-clever folks are mostly in situations where they're lucky if they can afford food and rent. Alcohol just another out-of-reach luxury.
- xanderlewis 2y agoReally? Poor people don’t drink? I guess where you live there are no homeless people.
- bell-cot 2y agoRe-read the "Methods" section, on page 2 of the PDF. I'm not too familiar with the UK Biobank database, but the researchers broadly exclude anyone whose record (in the DB) did not include completion of multiple cognitive tests. And prioritized people whose data include rather comprehensive sleep & related data. Again I don't know this dataset well...but I'd really suspect that few of the UK's homeless would have passed this study's selection criteria.