ZME Science
No Result
View All Result
ZME Science
No Result
View All Result
ZME Science

Home → Health

Even moderate drinking can damage your brain, new study finds

Please be moderate in your moderation.

Mihai AndreibyMihai Andrei
June 8, 2017
in Health, Mind & Brain, News
A A
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterSubmit to Reddit

Researchers found that moderate drinking leads to damage in a brain area associated with memory and learning.

drinking moderate alcohol
Even drinking a few pints per week can be bad for you. Image credits: TrafficJan82.

Binge drinking has a bad name, and it really should. Alcohol’s negative effects are strong and far reaching, ranging from high blood pressure and increased cancer risk to liver and pancreas damage. However, moderate drinking is significantly different, greatly reducing the health risks, and, as some studies have shown, even having some positive effects. The positive impact of red wine (in low quantities) has been suggested several times. Nowadays, the health effects of moderate drinking are strongly debated, with no clear bottom line being drawn. Moderate drinking is definitely not as bad for you as heavy drinking, but it could be bad, it could be good, or quite possibly — both. We just don’t know to what extent the ‘good’ and the ‘bad’ range.

This new study helps shed some light on that issue. Writing in the British Medical Journal (BMJ), researchers followed the health of 550 subjects, who were considered moderate drinkers, drinking the equivalent of four glasses of wine a week or five pints of beer a week. They were studied for 30 years, so it’s quite a lengthy study.

The men and women’s lifestyle was analyzed, and corrections were made to compensate for their lifestyle. After this, researchers conducted MRI scans of their brains.

hipocampus alcohol
The hippocampus is located in the medial temporal lobe of the brain. Image credits: Henry Vandyke Carter – Henry Gray (1918) Anatomy of the Human Body.

They found that 65% of average drinkers exhibited some level of shrinkage in the right side of the hippocampus, a major component in our brain which plays an important role in both short and long term memory. Nondrinkers also exhibit some level of shrinkage, but much lower (35%).

Furthermore, there seemed to be a direct correlation between how much the participants drank and the level of shrinkage. Those who were on the heavier side of drinking had a higher rate of brain damage (77%). Of course, it should be considered that while participants were moderate drinkers, they have been moderate drinkers for 30 years.

“We knew that drinking heavily for long periods of time was bad for brain health, but we didn’t know at these levels,” said Anya Topiwala, a clinical lecturer in old age psychiatry at the University of Oxford and co-author of the research.

Researchers also asked participants to carry out a lexical fluency test, for instance saying as many words beginning with a certain letter as they can, within a minute. Again, there was a correlation between how much they had been drinking, and how well they fared at the test.

RelatedPosts

Scientists measure properties of elusive Einsteinium, the 99th element in the periodic table
2015 Nobel prize for Physiology or Medicine Awarded
These six science-based lifestyle habits can tackle memory decline
Stonehenge may have been burial site for stone age elite

It’s important to take this study with a grain of salt. While it is, as Elizabeth Coulthard, consultant senior lecturer in dementia neurology at the University of Bristol called it, robust, it’s also an observational study — which means that it establishes a correlation, not a causation. Basically, there’s nothing to say that the alcohol itself was causing the brain damage. It could very well be that moderate drinkers share another characteristic which is the main cause. Furthermore, most of the participants in this study were men, so perhaps it is not representative of the entire population. Also, men tend to underestimate their drinking, so they might not have been as moderate as they think.

Still, justifying moderate drinking is becoming harder and harder. It should always be kept in mind that alcohol is one of the main drivers of cognitive decline, and even quantities considered benign can have a significant effect. At this point, no one is saying ‘stop drinking’, but it’s important to be moderate… even in moderation.

Journal Reference: Anya Topiwala et al — Moderate alcohol consumption as risk factor for adverse brain outcomes and cognitive decline: longitudinal cohort study. doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.j2353 

ShareTweetShare
Mihai Andrei

Mihai Andrei

Dr. Andrei Mihai is a geophysicist and founder of ZME Science. He has a Ph.D. in geophysics and archaeology and has completed courses from prestigious universities (with programs ranging from climate and astronomy to chemistry and geology). He is passionate about making research more accessible to everyone and communicating news and features to a broad audience.

Related Posts

Environment

This Plastic Dissolves in Seawater and Leaves Behind Zero Microplastics

byTudor Tarita
21 hours ago
Anthropology

Women Rate Women’s Looks Higher Than Even Men

byTudor Tarita
21 hours ago
Art

AI-Based Method Restores Priceless Renaissance Art in Under 4 Hours Rather Than Months

byTibi Puiu
2 days ago
News

Meet the Dragon Prince: The Closest Known Ancestor to T-Rex

byTibi Puiu
2 days ago

Recent news

This Plastic Dissolves in Seawater and Leaves Behind Zero Microplastics

June 14, 2025

Women Rate Women’s Looks Higher Than Even Men

June 14, 2025

AI-Based Method Restores Priceless Renaissance Art in Under 4 Hours Rather Than Months

June 13, 2025
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Editorial Policy
  • Privacy Policy and Terms of Use
  • How we review products
  • Contact

© 2007-2025 ZME Science - Not exactly rocket science. All Rights Reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • Science News
  • Environment
  • Health
  • Space
  • Future
  • Features
    • Natural Sciences
    • Physics
      • Matter and Energy
      • Quantum Mechanics
      • Thermodynamics
    • Chemistry
      • Periodic Table
      • Applied Chemistry
      • Materials
      • Physical Chemistry
    • Biology
      • Anatomy
      • Biochemistry
      • Ecology
      • Genetics
      • Microbiology
      • Plants and Fungi
    • Geology and Paleontology
      • Planet Earth
      • Earth Dynamics
      • Rocks and Minerals
      • Volcanoes
      • Dinosaurs
      • Fossils
    • Animals
      • Mammals
      • Birds
      • Fish
      • Amphibians
      • Reptiles
      • Invertebrates
      • Pets
      • Conservation
      • Animal facts
    • Climate and Weather
      • Climate change
      • Weather and atmosphere
    • Health
      • Drugs
      • Diseases and Conditions
      • Human Body
      • Mind and Brain
      • Food and Nutrition
      • Wellness
    • History and Humanities
      • Anthropology
      • Archaeology
      • History
      • Economics
      • People
      • Sociology
    • Space & Astronomy
      • The Solar System
      • Sun
      • The Moon
      • Planets
      • Asteroids, meteors & comets
      • Astronomy
      • Astrophysics
      • Cosmology
      • Exoplanets & Alien Life
      • Spaceflight and Exploration
    • Technology
      • Computer Science & IT
      • Engineering
      • Inventions
      • Sustainability
      • Renewable Energy
      • Green Living
    • Culture
    • Resources
  • Videos
  • Reviews
  • About Us
    • About
    • The Team
    • Advertise
    • Contribute
    • Editorial policy
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact

© 2007-2025 ZME Science - Not exactly rocket science. All Rights Reserved.