Remi Daviet, Gökhan Aydogan, Kanchana Jagannathan
Nathaniel Spilka, Philipp D. Koellinger, Henry R. Kranzler, Gideon Nave, Reagan R. Wetherill
2022 · Nature Communications
Abstract Heavy alcohol consumption has been associated with brain atrophy, neuronal loss, and poorer white matter fiber integrity. However, there is conflicting evidence on whether light-to-moderate alcohol consumption shows similar negative associations with brain structure. To address this, we examine the associations between alcohol intake and brain structure using multimodal imaging data from 36,678 generally healthy middle-aged and older adults from the UK Biobank, controlling for numerous potential confounds. Consistent with prior literature, we find negative associations between alcohol intake and brain macrostructure and microstructure. Specifically, alcohol intake is negatively associated with global brain volume measures, regional gray matter volumes, and white matter microstructure. Here, we show that the negative associations between alcohol intake and brain macrostructure and microstructure are already apparent in individuals consuming an average of only one to two daily alcohol units, and become stronger as alcohol intake increases.
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>Stick to the alcohol and drink within the culture of it and you will be fine. It is bad for your body even at small quantities but at least you keep your mind intact Even moderate consumption of alcohol leads to structural and volumetric brain changes: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-022-28735-5
> Specifically, alcohol intake is negatively associated with global brain volume measures, regional gray matter volumes, and white matter microstructure. Here, we show that the negative associations between alcohol intake and brain macrostructure and microstructure are already apparent in individuals consuming an average of only one to two daily alcohol units, and become stronger as alcohol intake increases. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-022-28735-5
Here's the study: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-022-28735-5 > ...we examine the associations between alcohol intake and brain structure using multimodal imaging data from 36,678 generally healthy middle-aged and older adults from the UK Biobank... They were not able to control for previous alcohol consumption. The data only goes back 1 year. And it's self-reported. I highly suspect many heavy drinkers would under report their drinking but they wouldn't report not drinking.
To be fair there are also studies showing alcohol has similar effects on the brain. I saw one just yesterday: "A large study of more than 36,000 high-quality MRI brain scans has found that drinking four units of alcohol a day – two beers, or two glasses of wine – causes structural damage and brain volume loss equivalent to 10 years of aging." https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-022-28735-5 I always said I would never smoke marijuana because my brain is my biggest asset and I wouldn't want to do anything to decrease its value to me. Now it looks like I need to take a good hard look at my alcohol consumption. I just can't square it with my values anymore.
Here's the link to the actual study: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-022-28735-5 The crucial figure is Figure 3. Take it with a big grain of salt though. From the figure it would follow that if you are female and you drink an average of 1 alcoholic drink per day, then your brain actually "grows". And the effect is more pronounced (about double) than the "shrinkage" effect observed for males.
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