This Is How Many Drinks It Takes to Wreck Your Brain

Drinking in excess can have a negative impact on one’s brain.

According to a new study published in Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology, eight or more alcoholic drinks per week have an increased risk of brain lesions, early death, and Alzheimer’s disease.

“Heavy alcohol consumption is a major global health concern linked to increased health problems and death,” study author Alberto Fernando Oliveira Justo, PhD, said. “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.”

To reach that conclusion, researchers studied more than 1,700 people who had an average age of 75 at death. All participants had brain autopsies. That allowed researchers to look at brain tissue for signs of injury and measure brain weight.

In addition to the brain autopsies, participants’ families answered questions about their loved ones’ alcohol consumption.

What the Study Discovered About Heavy Drinkers

From there, the participants were divided into four groups: people who never drank, people who had seven or fewer drinks per week, heavy drinkers who consumed eight or more drinks per week, and former heavy drinkers.

Next, researchers adjusted for brain health factors including age at death, smoking, and physical activity. Heavy drinkers were found to have 133 percent higher odds of having brain lesions compared to those who never drank. Former heavy drinkers had 89 percent higher odds and moderate drinkers had a 60 percent higher chance.

Those lesions, a condition called hyaline arteriolosclerosis, cause small blood vessels to narrow and become thick and stiff. That makes it harder for blood to flow. As a result, the brain can become damaged, leading to memory and cognitive problems over time.

Heavy and formerly heavy drinkers also, respectively, had 41 and 31 percent higher odds of developing tau tangles, a biomarker associated with Alzheimer’s disease.

Additionally, heavy drinkers died an average of 13 years earlier than those who never drank.

“We found heavy drinking is directly linked to signs of injury in the brain, and this can cause long-term effects on brain health, which may impact memory and thinking abilities,” Justo said. “Understanding these effects is crucial for public health awareness and continuing to implement preventive measures to reduce heavy drinking.”

The study made sure to note that it did not prove that heavy drinking causes brain injury. Instead, it showed an association between the two.