Author: John Carter

Alcohol Use Disorder and Dementia: A Review Alcohol Research: Current Reviews

The hazard ratio for abstinence compared to consumption of 1–14 drinks per week for developing any kind of dementia was 1.47, after adjusting for confounders (extensive assessment of sociodemographic data and cardiovascular health data). Diagnosis was made through linkage with mental health services data set, mortality register and national hospital episode statistics. The consensus among studies from multiple disciplines is that AUD can increase the risk for dementia, but not necessarily the risk of Alzheimer’s disease. A review of clinical and epidemiological data suggests that criteria and nomenclature of dementia subtypes need improvement.

JR wrote a first draft of the paper, and all authors participated in revising the draft to its current form and approved the final version. A prospective, randomized, controlled trial could distinguish between direct, alcohol-related effects, statistical confounders, and lifestyle effects,87 while more insight on the pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s disease in general and more specifically the influence of alcohol on the different biochemical pathways could provide a cogent model of alcohol effects on dementia pathogenesis and progression. If you’ve been drinking alcohol for a long time, you might experience alcohol withdrawal symptoms, including disorientation, agitation, and mood changes.

Effects of excessive alcohol consumption

Such studies would include genetic profiles, standardized cognition, mood and behavioral assessments, and quantification of structural and functional connectivity brain measures, which are all well established for dementia and found in the present scoping review to be underutilized. Such trials would be situated predominantly in the primary health-care system, where screening and brief interventions have been shown to reduce the heavy use of alcohol 86 and where many of the less severe AUDs can be treated 87. Finally, as the addition of new analyses of existing and ongoing cohort studies will also be affected by the previously noted limitations, there is a need for future studies to address these limitations.

If you think you may be experiencing alcohol-related dementia, talk with a healthcare professional. Sensitivity analysis will be carried out by excluding trials and results will be presented and compared with overall findings. Additionally, if multiple articles were published based on the same cohort, we chose that with longer follow-up or a larger sample size. This section collects any data citations, data availability statements, or supplementary materials included in this article. Once the withdrawal process is over, you’ll likely be referred to a mental health professional for extra support. A person may consider joining support groups or attending counseling or therapy if alcohol use is impairing their quality of life in the short and long term.

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Similarly, whereas the terms “Alzheimer’s” and “alcoholism” yielded 318 results, “Alzheimer’s” and “alcohol use disorder (AUD)” returned only 40 citations. The searches also considered subtypes of dementia in addition to Alzheimer’s disease, such as alcohol-related WKS and vascular, frontotemporal, and Lewy body dementias. Searches regarding animal models (i.e., rat, mouse) were narrowed by pathological terms or relevant mechanisms (e.g., amyloid, neurofibrillary tangles, presenilin).

Moderate drinking and AD

1. Furthermore, cohort studies in twins may contribute to identifying genetic variations 85.
2. Therefore, there is also a need for the use of standardized objective measures of dementia and cognitive decline, using current consensus criteria.
3. Such trials would be situated predominantly in the primary health-care system, where screening and brief interventions have been shown to reduce the heavy use of alcohol 86 and where many of the less severe AUDs can be treated 87.
4. Studies were included if they were published in 2000 or later in order to include only reviews which were undertaken using methodological standards similar to those used today; however, this does not mean that the original studies underlying these reviews were restricted to 2000 or later (for example, 20) (Additional file 1).

Of the 350 results from the original search, a total of 28 systematic reviews, most of which were published after 2010 11, 20, 22,23,24,25,26,27,28,29,30,31,32,33,34,35,36,37,38,39,40,41,42,43,44,45,46,47, met all inclusion criteria. The retrospective cohort study of Schwarzinger et al showed the impressive increase in (mainly early onset) dementia risk in patients with alcohol use disorder.9 This patient group would not have been included in most prospective cohort studies assessing alcohol use and dementia risk in the elderly, because of their already present dementia at the date of study inception. In summary, while a number of studies have reported experimental findings to explain risk reduction through alcohol consumption for vascular dementia, data regarding the impact of alcohol on Alzheimer´s pathophysiology is more contradictory. From each study, we extracted the first author, publication year, region, sex, age, follow-up duration, sample size and person-years stratified by alcohol dose, diagnosis criteria, alcohol intake, HR /RR and 95% CI.

Health Challenges

This excessive consumption puts a person at risk of various brain diseases, including AD, stroke, and heart disease. On the other hand, there is no rationale either, to recommend cutting down on alcohol consumption to reduce dementia risk if consumption is moderate (disregarding other risks of alcohol consumption). Alcoholic dementia, or alcohol-related dementia, is a severe form of alcohol-related brain damage caused by many years of heavy drinking. It can lead to dementia-like symptoms, including memory loss, erratic mood, and poor judgment. Of the 350 results from the original search, a total of 28 systematic reviews, most of which were published after 2010 11, 20, 22–47, met all inclusion criteria.

Individuals may also be irritable, have sudden outbursts, and have issues with coordination and balance. It can reduce the size of the hippocampus, the area of the brain responsible for learning and memory. Long-term alcohol use may lead to Alzheimer’s disease (AD), a type of dementia that affects more than six million Americans. And although the likelihood of having dementia also increases with age, it is not a typical part of aging. Excessive alcohol use may put a person at risk of developing certain health problems relating to the brain. JR and OSMH performed the main systematic searches and the methodological studies to assure inter-rater reliability.

Around one in six American adults drink to excess, and almost half of the United States population drank alcohol in 2020. Excessive drinking can cause long-term effects such as stroke, heart disease, and cancer. While a selection of studies is discussed below, Table 2 gives an overview of all published studies in compliance with our inclusion criteria. If you suspect you have this condition, reach out to a healthcare professional as soon as possible to discuss treatment options.

More rigorous studies using newer dementia, genetic, and neuroimaging biomarkers are needed to establish clearer guidelines for frontline clinicians in an era in which dementia prevention is a public and individual health priority. The purpose of this review is to give an overview about the dose- and pattern-related effects of alcohol on the risk of developing dementia, while trying to differentiate different neurodegenerative, vascular and other forms of dementia. The first part of the review will give an overview about alcohol effects on the central nervous system and summarize findings with different methodological approaches (biochemical methods, histopathological findings, animal models, neuroimaging).