Long-term impact of alcohol on the brain

See also: Alcohol-related brain damage

The long-term impact of alcohol on the brain has become a growing area of research focus. While researchers have found that moderate alcohol consumption in older adults is associated with better cognition and well-being than abstinence,[1] excessive alcohol consumption is associated with widespread and significant brain lesions. Other data – including investigated brain-scans of 36,678 UK Biobank participants – suggest that even "light" or "moderate" consumption of alcohol by itself harms the brain, such as by reducing brain grey matter volume. This may imply that alternatives and generally aiming for lowest possible consumption could usually be the advisable approach.

Despite these physiological effects in principle, in some cases occasional moderate consumption may have ancillary benefits on the brain due to social and psychological benefits if compared to alcohol abstinence and soberness.[2]

While the extent of causation is difficult to prove, alcohol intake – even at levels often considered to be low – "is negatively associated with global brain volume measures, regional gray matter volumes, and white matter microstructure" and these associations become stronger as alcohol intake increases.[3][4][5][6]

The effects can manifest much later—mid-life Alcohol Use Disorder has been found to correlate with increased risk of severe cognitive and memory deficits in later life.[7][8] Alcohol related brain damage is not only due to the direct toxic effects of alcohol; alcohol withdrawal, nutritional deficiency, electrolyte disturbances, and liver damage are also believed to contribute to alcohol-related brain damage.[9]

  1. ^ Lang I, Wallace RB, Huppert FA, Melzer D (2007). "Moderate alcohol consumption in older adults is associated with better cognition and well-being than abstinence". Age and Ageing. 36 (3): 256–61. doi:10.1093/ageing/afm001. PMID 17353234. Open access icon
  2. ^ Dunbar RI, Launay J, Wlodarski R, Robertson C, Pearce E, Carney J, MacCarron P (1 June 2017). "Functional Benefits of (Modest) Alcohol Consumption". Adaptive Human Behavior and Physiology. 3 (2): 118–133. doi:10.1007/s40750-016-0058-4. ISSN 2198-7335. PMC 7010365. PMID 32104646.
  3. ^ Ramirez E. "Study: No Amount Of Drinking Alcohol Is Safe For Brain Health". Forbes. Retrieved 13 June 2021.
  4. ^ Topiwala A, Ebmeier KP, Maullin-Sapey T, Nichols TE (2021-05-12). "No safe level of alcohol consumption for brain health: observational cohort study of 25,378 UK Biobank participants". medRxiv 10.1101/2021.05.10.21256931v1. Available under CC BY 4.0.
  5. ^ "Sorry, wine lovers. No amount of alcohol is good for you, study says". Washington Post. Retrieved 19 April 2022.
  6. ^ Daviet R, Aydogan G, Jagannathan K, Spilka N, Koellinger PD, Kranzler HR, Nave G, Wetherill RR (4 March 2022). "Associations between alcohol consumption and gray and white matter volumes in the UK Biobank". Nature Communications. 13 (1): 1175. Bibcode:2022NatCo..13.1175D. doi:10.1038/s41467-022-28735-5. ISSN 2041-1723. PMC 8897479. PMID 35246521.
  7. ^ Caroline Cassels (July 30, 2014). "Midlife Alcohol Abuse Linked to Severe Memory Impairment". Medscape. WebMD LLC.
  8. ^ Kuźma EB, Llewellyn DJ, Langa KM, Wallace RB, Lang IA (2014). "History of Alcohol Use Disorders and Risk of Severe Cognitive Impairment: A 19-Year Prospective Cohort Study". The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry. 22 (10): 1047–1054. doi:10.1016/j.jagp.2014.06.001. PMC 4165640. PMID 25091517.
  9. ^ Neiman J (Oct 1998). "Alcohol as a risk factor for brain damage: neurologic aspects". Alcohol. Clin. Exp. Res. 22 (7 Suppl): 346S–351S. doi:10.1111/j.1530-0277.1998.tb04389.x. PMID 9799959.