Even moderate drinking can damage the brain, researchers now say
Sustained consumption of two to three units of alcohol a day shrinks the hippocampus, a part of the brain that governs memory and ability to keep one’s bearings, say British researchers
Even moderate drinking is linked to brain damage and a slight decline in mental skills, according to a study released on Wednesday that calls into question many national alcohol guidelines.
Men and women who consume 14 to 21 drinks a week over a period of decades are two to three times more likely than non-drinkers to show atrophy in the hippocampus, a part of the brain that governs memory and the ability to keep one’s bearings, said the study, published in the medical journal BMJ. They also performed more poorly on a specific verbal test, though other language functions appeared to remain unchanged.
A single drink was defined as containing 10 millilitres (8 grams) of pure alcohol – the equivalent of a large glass of wine, a pint of 5 per cent proof beer, or a shot of spirits such as whisky or vodka. Last year, the British government revised its guidelines for alcohol consumption, lowering the recommended maximum for men and women to 14 “units”, or drinks, spread out over a week.
In other countries, that threshold is set higher for men: 35 units in Spain, 24.5 in the US, 21 in Denmark and Ireland, and 19 in New Zealand. For women, however, guidelines for maximum weekly consumption in all of these nations, except for Spain, is 14 drinks or less.
