Alcohol-related brain damage typically occurs after years of heavy drinking. According to a new study published in PLOS Medicine, even moderate alcohol consumption may be more harmful to brain health than we previously thought. In this article, we’ll explore what researchers have to say about the link between alcohol consumption and cognitive decline as well as how you can reduce your risk.
What the Research Shows
In a study that was published in the July 14, 2022 issue of the PLOS Medicine journal, researchers from the University of Oxford surveyed 20,965 people from the UK with an average age of 55 years. Participants were asked to choose whether they were current drinkers, past drinkers, or had never drank before. Current drinkers were then asked to self-report their weekly alcohol consumption. A brain MRI was then performed on all participants, and 7,000 participants had MRIs done on their livers as well. Participants also underwent testing to assess their cognitive and motor function.
The MRI scans revealed that participants who drank more than 7 units of alcohol per week (or roughly three 175-mL glasses of wine with a 14 percent alcohol content) had a higher buildup of iron in their basal ganglia – the area of the brain responsible for cognition, emotions, and motor movement. A buildup of iron in this area of the brain had been linked to cognitive decline in past studies, and researchers at the University of Oxford likewise noted that participants with higher iron levels in the brain performed poorer on cognitive and motor function assessments.
Lead author of the study Anya Topiwala said, “Potential implications are that this adds to the increasing evidence base that even small amounts of alcohol may damage the brain. Additionally, it offers insight into the way alcohol damages the brain — and we hope offers future avenues for studies to test whether intervening to lower iron might help avoid damage.”
In comments made to Healthline, Dr. Patricia E. Molina, Director of the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Center of Excellence at LSUHSC New Orleans (who was not a part of the Oxford study) stated that the basal ganglia is known to be vulnerable to age-related changes and that the study’s results indicate that iron buildup in this area of the brain due to alcohol consumption could be a factor that contributes to age-related cognitive decline.
How to Lower Your Risk
Drinking three glasses of wine (seven units by the Oxford study’s standards) per week isn’t exactly what most people would consider excessive. In fact, participants in the University of Oxford study who classified themselves as drinkers reported consuming an average of 18 units of alcohol each week. If you want to lower your risk of cognitive decline and conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease, though, you may have to redefine what you consider excessive.
Consuming less than seven units of alcohol per week was not found to increase the risk of cognitive decline; participants who reported drinking less than seven units of alcohol per week had roughly the same iron levels in the brain as those who stated that they don’t drink at all.
Cutting back on your alcohol intake, therefore, can help lower your risk of cognitive decline without requiring you to give up alcohol entirely. And Anya Topiwala stated that “we found no evidence of harm at drinking less than seven units a week. (https://www.leankitchenco.com/) ”
Dr. Patricia E. Molina agreed with this conclusion, stating that either reducing the amount of alcohol you consume at a time or reducing the number of days in which you consume alcohol can help prevent alcohol-related brain damage. She also recommended avoiding drinking to the point of intoxication. As with most foods, drinks, and substances that aren’t especially healthy, moderation is the key to healthy alcohol consumption. In small amounts, alcohol may even offer a handful of health benefits. However, research from Anya Topiwala and her team at the University of Oxford serves as a sobering reminder that the risks of alcohol consumption can be considerable as well.
