If you drink more than eight alcoholic drinks per week, researchers say you could have this health risk

The effects of drinking alcohol on all of the body’s major organs the heart, brain, liver, pancreas, and kidneys, are well documented - as are its impact on the central nervous system, the stomach, mouth...

Heavy drinking over a long period of time can have serious health implications and lead to premature death.

One of the most recent studies looked into how alcohol consumption affects the brain. A group of Brazilian researchers led by Alberto Fernando Oliveira Justo, PhD, of University of São Paulo Medical School in Brazil, investigated the long-term impact of excessive alcohol consumption on cognitive abilities and dementia-related neuropathology. The results were published in published in the journal Neurology, earlier this year.

Data was logged from a cross section of 1,781 participants including moderate, heavy and former drinkers along with those who have never had a drop of the demon drink.

Heavy drinkers are classified as those who have “eight or more alcoholic drinks per week” - the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) defines “hazardous drinking” as 15-34 units per week for women and 15-49 units per week for men.

How alcohol affects the brain over time

The study found that excessive alcohol consumption in both heavy and former heavy drinkers increased the risk of developing brain lesions, called hyaline arteriolosclerosis, that can cause issues with memory and cognitition. Former heavy alcohol consumption was also associated with reduced brain mass.

Arteriolosclerosis is a cardiovascular condition in which small blood vessels narrow - the vessel walls thicken to leave arteries stiff and tight making it harder for blood to flow.

“Heavy alcohol consumption is a major global health concern linked to increased health problems and death,” said study author Alberto Fernando Oliveira Justo. “We looked at how alcohol affects the brain as people get older. Our research shows that heavy alcohol consumption is damaging to the brain, which can lead to memory and thinking problems.”

Of those who have never drank alcohol, 40% had vascular brain lesions. Of the moderate drinkers, 45% had vascular brain lesions. Of the heavy drinkers, 44% had vascular brain lesions. Of the former heavy drinkers, 50% had vascular brain lesions.

Heavy drinkers had 133% higher odds of having vascular brain lesions compared to those who never drank, former heavy drinkers had 89% higher odds and moderate drinkers, 60%.

Cerebral conditions linked to excessive, long-term drinking

The good news is that moderate drinkers and former drinkers have lower odds of developing brain lesions. But the bad news is that former heavy drinkers were still at greater risk (31 percent odds) of developing tau tangles, a neurological biomarker associated with Alzheimer’s and dementia.

And if that’s not a good enough reason to cut down, the study also suggested that lifetime heavy drinkers died, on average, 13 years earlier than teetotalers.

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