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By Lindsay Braun, Ivanhoe Health Correspondent
Orlando, Fla. (Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Studies show moderate alcohol consumption is associated with lower risk of cardiovascular disease, but a new study reveals it may also be associated with brain volume decline.
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Its generally considered that older adults arent as sharp mentally as younger adults. This may be because brain volume decreases with age at a rate of about 2 percent per decade. Lower brain volume is also found in patients with dementia and is associated with thinking, learning and memory problems. Now, researchers at Boston University School of Public Health have found another possible cause of lower brain volume -- alcohol consumption.
Researchers studied 1,839 adults and categorized them into groups based on their reported weekly alcohol consumption. My original question was since alcohol is protective for cardiovascular disease, is it protective when looking at the decline in brain volume with age? Carol Ann Paul, M.S., researcher at Boston University School of Public Health, told Ivanhoe.
The results of the study showed that instead of protecting against age-related brain volume decline, alcohol actually made it worse. With an increase in alcohol we found a decrease in brain volume, Paul said. Unlike the cardiovascular system, theres no protect effect in the decline of brain volume.
Paul added her next step in this research is to study the link between alcohol consumption and cognition to paint a clearer picture of the effects of alcohol on the brain.
SOURCE: Ivanhoe interview with Carol Ann Paul, M.S., Archives of Neurology, 2008;65:1363-1367
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