The regulatory roles of socio‐economic status, social and intellectual activity in the relationship between alcohol consumption and cognitive decline trajectory in middle‐aged and elderly Chinese: A prospective cohort study

Objectives To determine the relationship between alcohol consumption and cognitive decline, and to further explore the potential regulatory role of education, socio‐economic status (SES), and social or intellectual activity in this relationship. Methods 6197 participants aged 45–75 years with four repeated measures data from 2011 to 2018 were included. A mixed‐effect model was used to explore the relationship between alcohol consumption and the rate of change in cognitive decline, a latent class growth mixed model (LCGMM) was applied to determine the potential trajectory of cognitive decline, and finally, the mediating and moderating analyses were used to determine the regulatory effect of all four variables on the relationship between alcohol consumption and potential trajectory. Results Compared to never‐drinkers, moderate alcohol consumption was a protective factor for overall cognitive function (β = 0.13, 95% CI: 0.04–0.20, p