Excessive alcohol consumption is a significant global health problem, associated with increased morbidity and mortality. However, the long-term impact of excessive alcohol consumption on cognitive abilities or the neuropathology of dementia is not clear.
A study from the University of São Paulo (Brazil), which analyzed the association between alcohol consumption and age-related neuropathological outcomes in a population study, shows that heavy drinkers die 13 years earlier than those who have never drank, and in their brains, they have brain lesions that could well be linked to cognitive problems.
Impact of Excessive Alcohol Consumption on Brain Health
The study, published in «Neurology,» the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology, does not prove that excessive alcohol consumption causes brain damage; it only shows an association.
However, it is noted that heavy drinkers, who are those who consume eight or more alcoholic drinks per week, have a higher risk of brain lesions called Hyalineesclerosis, signs of brain lesions associated with memory and reasoning problems.
Hyaline Arteriolosclerosis is a condition that causes narrowing of small blood vessels, which becomes thick and rigid. This hinders blood flow, which over time can damage the brain. It manifests as wounds, damaged areas of tissue in the brain.
«Excessive alcohol consumption is a significant global health problem, associated with an increase in health problems and deaths. We analyzed how alcohol affects the brain as people age. Our research shows that excessive alcohol consumption is detrimental to the brain, which can cause memory and thinking problems,» says the study’s author, Dr. Alberto Fernando Oliveira Justo, from the University of São Paulo (Brazil).
The study included 1,781 people who were 75 years old when they died. A full brain autopsy was performed. The researchers examined the brain tissue to look for signs of brain lesions, such as hyaline sclerosis. They also measured the weight of the brain and the height of each participant.
The participants were divided into four groups: 965 people who never drank, 319 moderate drinkers who consumed seven or fewer drinks per week; 129 heavy drinkers who consumed eight or more drinks per week; and 368 former drinkers. The researchers defined a drink as an amount of 14 grams of alcohol, equivalent to approximately 350 milliliters (ml) of beer, 150 ml of wine, or 45 ml of distilled liquor.
Among those who never drank, 40% had vascular brain lesions. For moderate drinkers, 45% had vascular brain lesions. Of the heavy drinkers, 44% had a vascular brain lesion. Of the former drinkers, 50% showed vascular brain lesions.
After adjusting for factors that could affect brain health, such as age at death, smoking, and physical activity, Heavy drinkers were 133% more likely to have a vascular brain lesion compared to those who never drank, former heavy drinkers had an 89% higher chance, and moderate drinkers had a 60% higher chance.
The researchers also found that heavy drinkers and former drinkers were more likely to develop their Ovillus, a biomarker associated with Alzheimer’s disease, with a 41% and 31% higher likelihood.
How Alcohol Consumption Affects Memory and Reasoning
Excessive alcohol consumption in the past has been associated with a lower brain mass ratio, a lower brain mass ratio compared to body mass, and more severe cognitive abilities. There was no relationship between moderate or excessive alcohol consumption and brain mass ratio or cognitive abilities. In addition to brain lesions, only former heavy drinkers were affected in cognitive abilities.
The researchers also found that heavy drinkers died on average 13 years earlier than those who never drank. «I found that excessive alcohol consumption is directly related to signs of brain lesions, which can have a long-term effect on brain health, affecting memory and reasoning ability,» he says.
«Understanding these effects is crucial for public health awareness and continuing the implementation of preventive measures to reduce excessive alcohol consumption,» he says.
A limitation of the study was that it did not analyze participants before death and did not have information on the duration of alcohol consumption and cognitive abilities.
