Drinking a lot of alcohol can seriously harm the brain, especially in older adults. A recent study published in the journal Neurology found that people who drink eight or more alcoholic drinks a week are more likely to develop a type of brain damage known as hyaline arteriolosclerosis. This brain condition is linked to memory loss and thinking problems.
Hyaline arteriolosclerosis is a problem with the small blood vessels in the brain. Over time, these vessels become thick and stiff, which makes it harder for blood to flow. This poor blood flow can damage brain tissue and cause small injuries, which show up as lesions in the brain. These lesions are often linked to trouble with memory and thinking clearly.
The study was led by Dr. Alberto Fernando Oliveira Justo from the University of São Paulo Medical School in Brazil. He said that heavy drinking is already known to be bad for health, but this research gives us a closer look at how it might affect the brain as people get older.
To carry out the study, researchers looked at the brains of 1,781 people who had passed away at an average age of 75. After death, each person’s brain was carefully examined for signs of damage, such as lesions and something called “tau tangles,” which are linked to Alzheimer’s disease.
The researchers also measured brain size and gathered information about how much alcohol each person had consumed during their life. To do this, they spoke to family members of the deceased and asked about their drinking habits.
The participants were divided into four groups: those who never drank alcohol, those who drank moderately (seven or fewer drinks per week), those who drank heavily (eight or more drinks per week), and those who had been heavy drinkers in the past but had stopped.
One drink was defined as about 350 ml of beer, 150 ml of wine, or 45 ml of spirits, each containing around 14 grams of pure alcohol.
The findings were striking. Among people who never drank, 40% had vascular lesions in the brain. In moderate drinkers, this number was 45%. Among heavy drinkers, 44% had lesions, and among former heavy drinkers, the number rose to 50%. These lesions can affect the brain’s ability to work properly, especially in areas related to memory and decision-making.
When the researchers adjusted the results to account for other factors like age, smoking, and physical activity, they found that heavy drinkers were more than twice as likely to have these brain lesions compared to non-drinkers. Former heavy drinkers were nearly twice as likely, and even moderate drinkers had a noticeably increased risk.
The study also found that heavy and former heavy drinkers were more likely to have tau tangles in their brains. These tangles are signs of Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia. The risk was 41% higher for heavy drinkers and 31% higher for former heavy drinkers compared to people who never drank.
Interestingly, while current heavy drinking wasn’t directly linked to a smaller brain size, former heavy drinkers had lower brain mass and also showed more problems with thinking and memory. This could mean that the damage from alcohol doesn’t show up right away, but builds up over time.
Another concerning finding was that heavy drinkers died, on average, 13 years earlier than people who never drank.
Dr. Justo explained that these results show a clear link between heavy drinking and brain damage. He said that people need to understand how alcohol can harm the brain, especially over a long period of time. This kind of research can help guide public health messages and support efforts to reduce heavy drinking.
However, the study had some limits. Since the researchers only studied the brains after death, they didn’t know how long each person had been drinking or how their thinking abilities changed during their life. Still, the results give strong evidence that drinking a lot of alcohol can lead to long-lasting damage in the brain.
In summary, the study shows that heavy alcohol use increases the risk of brain damage and memory problems. Even people who used to drink heavily but stopped may carry long-term effects.
While moderate drinking also showed some risk, the most serious problems were found in those who drank the most. These findings suggest it’s important to be careful with alcohol, especially as we get older.
If you care about dementia, please read studies that eating apples and tea could keep dementia at bay, and Olive oil: a daily dose for better brain health.
For more health information, please see recent studies what you eat together may affect your dementia risk, and time-restricted eating: a simple way to fight aging and cancer.
The research findings can be found in Neurology.
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