Any amount of alcohol has negative health consequences. A recent study from the University of Pennsylvania (USA) has discovered that even having one or two alcoholic drinks a day could alter brain health, causing changes in this organ similar to those that occur after two years of aging.
The research, published in the journal Nature Communications, also found that any amount of alcohol carries risks for the brain, even at a moderate level of consumption, such as a few beers or glasses of wine a week. Specifically, drinking these types of drinks could reduce brain volume.
The study analyzed data from more than 36,000 adults, in which their alcohol consumption and changes in the brain were related. The authors found that the risk of worsening brain health increased as more alcoholic beverages were consumed.
Decreased brain gray and white matter
In study participants who were 50 years old, for example, it was observed that as they increased one unit of alcohol – corresponding to half a beer – or two units – equivalent to a pint of beer or a glass of wine – per day, they they produced changes in the brain equivalent to aging two years, and going from two to three units of alcohol in that age range was like aging three and a half years.
Going from one to two, or two to three units of alcohol per day was associated with reductions in both gray and white matter in the brain
The participants were grouped according to the amounts of alcohol they drank each day, and the brain volume of each was checked. Thus, the authors found that going from zero to one unit of alcohol did not make a big difference in brain volume, but going from one to two, or two to three units a day was associated with reductions in both gray matter and brain white and this could get worse as you drink more.
As they explain, each additional unit of alcohol consumed per day was reflected in a greater effect of aging in the brain. While going from zero to a daily average of one unit of alcohol was associated with the equivalent of half a year of brain aging, the difference between zero and four drinks was more than 10 years of aging.
“There is some evidence that the effect of drinking on the brain is exponential. So one additional drink in one day might have more impact than any of the previous drinks that day. That means cutting back on the last drink of the night could have a big effect in terms of brain aging. The people who stand to benefit the most from drinking less are the people who are already drinking more,” explains Remi Daviet, co-author of the study.
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