Drinking Alcohol May Protect Hearts in Older People
but It Shrinks Their Brains
The more alcohol consumed, the smaller the total
brain volume; stronger in women
Oct.
13, 2008 Senior citizens who have reveled for years in the thought
that their daily dose of alcohol was good for their health got a real
shock today. It may be good for your heart, and even your health, but it
shrinks your brain, researchers say in a new study. The more alcohol
consumed, the smaller the total brain volume.
Moderate alcohol consumption has been associated
with a lower risk of cardiovascular disease, notes the research report
in the October issue of Archives of Neurology, one of the JAMA/Archives
journals.
Because the brain receives blood from this system,
researchers have hypothesized that small amounts of alcohol may also
reduce age-related declines in brain volume.
Brain volume normally decreases with age at an
estimated rate of 1.9 percent per decade, accompanied by an increase in
white matter lesions.
Lower brain volumes and larger white matter lesions
also occur with the progression of dementia and problems with thinking,
learning and memory.
This study tested the hypothesis that low or
moderate alcohol consumption was associated with larger brain volume and
less white matter lesions (WMH) when compared with no drinking or high
levels of alcohol consumption in a sample of community-dwelling adults.
Carol Ann Paul, M.S., Wellesley College, Mass., and
her colleagues studied 1,839 adults (average age 60) who were part of
the Framingham Offspring Study, which began in 1971 and includes
children of the original Framingham Heart Study participants and their
spouses.
Between 1999 and 2001, participants underwent
magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and a health examination. The sample
included 1839 participants aged 33 to 88 years.
They reported the number of alcoholic drinks (beer,
white wine, red wine, or liquor) they consumed per week, along with
their age, sex, education, height, body mass index and Framingham Stroke
Risk Profile (which calculates stroke risk based on age, sex, blood
pressure and other factors).
Alcohol consumption was recorded as a continuous
variable and participants were classified into 1 of 5 categories that
have been used in other studies:
> abstainers,
> former drinkers (drinkers based on their drinking status at earlier
examinations),
> low (1-7 drinks per week),
> moderate (8-14 drinks per week), and
> high (more than 14 drinks per week).
"Most participants reported low alcohol
consumption, and men were more likely than women to be moderate or heavy
drinkers," according to the report.
"There was a significant negative linear
relationship between alcohol consumption and total cerebral brain
volume."
Although men were more likely to drink alcohol, the
association between drinking and brain volume was stronger in women,
they note. This could be due to biological factors, including womens
smaller size and greater susceptibility to alcohols effects.
"The public health effect of this study gives a
clear message about the possible dangers of drinking alcohol," the
authors write.
"Prospective longitudinal studies are needed to
confirm these results as well as to determine whether there are any
functional consequences associated with increasing alcohol consumption.
This study suggests that, unlike the associations with cardiovascular
disease, alcohol consumption does not have any protective effect on
brain volume."
The authors also note, Our results are consistent
with 2 recent studies in smaller samples. In a study of 405 Japanese
men, both global and regional gray matter volumes were negatively
correlated with lifetime alcohol intake.
In another sample of 385 adults aged 60 to 64
years, greater alcohol consumption was associated with more brain
atrophy. Neither of these studies found beneficial effects of low to
moderate alcohol consumption.
This study was supported by a contract from the
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institutes Framingham Heart Study,
National Institutes of Health; grants from the National Institute on
Aging; and a grant from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders
and Stroke.
Keep up with the latest news for senior citizens, baby
boomers
Oct.
13, 2008 Senior citizens who have reveled for years in the thought
that their daily dose of alcohol was good for their health got a real
shock today. It may be good for your heart, and even your health, but it
shrinks your brain, researchers say in a new study. The more alcohol
consumed, the smaller the total brain volume.
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