As little as 8 alcoholic beverages a week can contribute to dementia: research

• A new study found that heavy drinkers are more likely to develop brain damage associated with memory loss
• Researchers studied the brain tissue of deceased individuals and interviewed their family members about their drinking habits to back up their results
• “We thought that severe drinking is directly linked to signs of brain injury, and this can cause long -lasting effects on brain health, which can affect memory and thinking abilities,” the study’s writer said

Researchers believe that they have discovered a link between drinking of alcoholic beverages and dementia, according to new research.

Per it studyPublished this month through the scientific journal Neurology, Researchers found that heavy drinkers who consume eight or more alcoholic beverages a week have an increased risk of developing brain damage associated with diseases such as Alzheimer’s.

When individuals develop these brain damage – known as hyaline arteriolosclerosis – their blood vessels narrowed and become thick and stiff. It then becomes more difficult for blood to float, which damages the brain over time, says the study.

“Heavy alcohol consumption is a major global health problem linked to increased health problems and death,” said the author’s author – Alberto Fernando Oliveira Justo from the University of Sao Paulo Medical School in Brazil – in a press release.

“We looked at how alcohol affects the brain as people get older, (and) our research shows that heavy alcohol consumption damages the brain, which can lead to memory and thinking problems,” he added.

The study included information from 1,781 people who had brain removal after their deaths and was an average age of 75 years old when they died.

Researchers interviewed their family members to learn how much alcohol they drank regularly, and then examined their brains for injuries, such as the lesions, or TAU tangles – a biomarker associated with Alzheimer’s disease.

“We found that severe drinking is directly linked to signs of brain damage, and it can cause long -lasting effects on brain health, which can affect memory and thinking abilities,” Justo said.

The final results showed that 40% of people who never drank had brain damage, 45% of moderate drinkers had injuries, 44% of heavy drinking had injuries and 50% of previous heavy drinkers had injuries.

The study also showed that heavy drinkers were more likely to have TAU tangles, with 41% higher odds than other groups. In the meantime, previous heavy drinkers were 31% more likely to have the markers.

“Understanding these effects is crucial to awareness of public health and continues to implement preventive measures to reduce sharp drinking,” pronounced Justo.

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Researchers in similar ways found that previous heavy drinkers also had a lower brain mass ratio and poorer cognitive abilities. However, Justo explained that no link was found between these health problems and current drinkers.

The new one Neurology The study even found that heavy drinkers died on average 13 years earlier than those who never drank.

USA Dietary riots for Americans Currently, recommends that men over 21 should not drink more than two drinks per day, and the woman over 21 should only have one drink per day.

Leana Wen, an emergency physician and additional lecturer at George Washington University, who did not work on this study, told CNN that the results were “convincing” and would make people consider how much alcohol we consume.

“It is especially to tell you that previous heavy drinkers have evidence of long -term injuries, although stopping heavy drinking seems to lower the risk,” she told the outlet.

Wen added, “It is important to point out that these findings are compounds that are suggestive, rather than evidence of cause and effect. In addition, a limitation of the study is that it did not measure the duration of alcohol consumption or distinguish between the people who regularly consumed one or two drinks per night counter those who drank sporadic but heavy.”

According to Wen, there will probably not be a single consensus on how unhealthy alcohol consumption is, as clinics and public health experts have been discussing the issue for decades.

What is more important, she explained, is for those who drink alcohol to make sure They have a healthy relationship With the drink.