Heavy drinking in middle age may speed men's mental decline

Date: Jan-16-2014Research led by University College London in the UK suggests men who drink heavily

in middle age experience a faster rate of mental decline, compared with men who consume light to

moderate amounts of alcohol.

The researchers defined heavy drinking in men as consuming 36 g of alcohol or more per day.

This is the amount of alcohol in four to five 25 ml measures of spirits, or around two pints of

beer, or two 175 ml glasses of wine, depending on strength.

Lead author Dr. Séverine Sabia, of the department of epidemiology and public health at

University College, says:

"Much of the research evidence about drinking and a relationship to memory and executive

function is based on older populations. Our study focused on middle-aged participants and

suggests that heavy drinking is associated with faster decline in all areas of cognitive

function in men."

Study assessed drinking habits over 10 years

Middle-aged men who drank more than 36 g of alcohol per day showed memory decline much faster than their counterparts who drank less.

Published recently online in the journal Neurology, the study drew on data from

over 5,000 men and 2,000 women who took part in the Whitehall II study of UK civil servants.

The participants were aged between 44 and 69 when they joined the study between 1997 and 1999.

Their drinking habits, memory and executive functions were assessed at the start of the study

and then twice more over a 10-year follow-up.

Tests of executive function measure certain thinking skills, such as reasoning, attention,

and problem-solving.

The results showed there were no differences in memory and executive function decline among

men who were light or moderate drinkers (under 20 g of alcohol a day).

But men who were heavy drinkers (36 g or more of alcohol per day) experienced memory and

executive function decline that was between 1.5 and 6 years faster than counterparts who were

not heavy drinkers.

The study did not find the same was true of women, although this could be because there

were not enough heavy drinkers among the female participants.

Memory decline 'can be a precursor to dementia'

Dr. Simon Ridley, head of research at leading UK charity Alzheimer's Research UK, says:

"Observational studies such as this can be important for identifying factors that may

influence the risk of memory decline or disease, but it's difficult to pinpoint cause and

effect with this type of research."

He explains that while the people in the study did not have dementia, memory decline can be

a precursor to the disease, and we need to know more about the risk factors for this decline so

we can prevent it.

He underlines the importance of continuing to invest in research so we can find out how best

to keep our brains healthy as we age and prevent diseases that cause dementia, and adds:

"In the meantime, the best evidence suggests that in addition to not drinking to excess we

can lower the risk of dementia by eating a healthy, balanced diet, keeping an eye on our blood

pressure and weight, and taking regular exercise."

Funds from the British Medical Research Council, British Heart Foundation, the US National

Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute and the US National Institute on Aging helped finance the

study.

In another study published recently, researchers in Canada found that drinking alcohol can impair

vision by up to 30% before we even hit the legal limit.

Written by Catharine Paddock PhD

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