Even Moderate Drinking Changes Brain: Study

http://www.newsmax.com/Health/Health-News/moderate-drinking-changes-brain/2017/06/07/id/794639/?ns_mail_uid=38004974&ns_mail_job=1735839_06112017&s=al&dkt_nbr=fds1dvix

Drinking even moderate amounts of alcohol is linked to changes in brain structure and an increased risk of worsening brain function, scientists said on Tuesday.

In a 30-year study that looked at the brains of 550 middle-aged heavy drinkers, moderate drinkers and teetotallers, the researchers found people drank more alcohol had a greater risk of hippocampal atrophy – a form of brain damage that affects memory and spatial navigation.

“And we found no support for a protective effect of light consumption on brain structure,” they added.

The research team – from the University of Oxford and University College London – said their results supported a recent lowering of drinking limit guidelines in Britain, but posed questions about limits recommended in the United States.

U.S. guidelines suggest that up to 24.5 units of alcohol a week is safe for men, but the study found increased risk of brain structure changes at just 14 to 21 units a week.

Killian Welch, a Royal Edinburgh Hospital neuropsychiatrist who was not directly involved in the study, said the results, published in the BMJ British Medical Journal, underlined “the argument that drinking habits many regard as normal have adverse consequences for health”.

“We all use rationalizations to justify persistence with behaviors not in our long term interest. With (these results) justification of ‘moderate’ drinking on the grounds of brain health becomes a little harder,” he said.

After adjusting for several important potential confounders such as gender, education, social class, physical and social activity, smoking, stroke risk and medical history, the scientists found that higher alcohol consumption was associated with increased risk of brain function decline.

The researchers noted that with an observational study like this, no firm conclusions can be drawn about cause and effect. They added, however, that the findings could have important public health implications for a large sector of the population.

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