Women who drink wine may have a lower risk of developing dementia.

According to the study from the University of Gothenburg in Sweden, among women who reported that they drank wine, a considerably lower proportion suffered from dementia. This correlation was not found among those who had reported that they regularly drank beer or liquor.

The results come from a follow-up of a population study of women from 1968. At the time 1,458 women were examined by GPs and asked to report how often they drank wine, beer, and liquor by selecting from seven categories on a scale from ‘never’ to ‘daily.’

Thirty-four years after the first study, 162 women had been diagnosed with dementia. The results found that among those women who reported that they drank wine a considerably lower proportion suffered from dementia, compared to those who had reported drinking beer or liquor.

The researchers nevertheless said the study results did not equate to any recommendations regarding whether a woman should begin to drink wine, continue to drink wine, or increase their consumption.

“We have to be very cautious when we interpret these results. There may be other factors in women who drink wine that provide them with protection against dementia, factors that we can’t measure. But the correlation found is a strong one and can’t be explained by other factors that we can measure, such as education, BMI, and smoking,” said one study researcher.

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