Sometimes, such head injuries are severe enough to cause a loss of consciousness. Head injuries due to falling or some other sort of alcohol-induced accident are also linked to an increased risk of dementia. Dementia is considered an umbrella term that is used to describe several syndromes of impaired brain functioning, which might include a decline in reasoning abilities and thinking, along with memory loss. Dementia and Alzheimer’s disease are crucial issues, affecting almost about 6 million Americans. Recently, researchers from the Translational Health Economics Network in Paris, France, set out to investigate the relationship between alcohol use disorders and early-onset dementia (that which develops before the age of 65).

Additionally, many older people also experience a slow degeneration of the cells in the hippocampus. But when you add the effects of heavy alcohol use, memory loss can be very serious. Meanwhile, results from Oceania depicted a protective effect of alcohol use against dementia compared to lifetime abstainers. Relatively quick and inexpensive, the case-control design is a standard epidemiologic approach used to identify potential risk factors and to determine whether more extensive studies are warranted.

Defeat Alcoholism and Dementia at Live Free Recovery

The presence of alcohol abuse was screened using the National Alzheimer’s Coordinating Center UDS questionnaire completed by clinicians during patient research visits. Rehm says countries like France and the United States should do more to screen for and treat alcohol use disorders, and that doing so may help slow the rapidly growing prevalence of dementia worldwide. The bottom line, he says, is that “the more you drink, the higher your chances of dying,” either from dementia-related causes or from other alcohol-related conditions like cancer.

Individuals may also be irritable, have sudden outbursts, and have issues with coordination and balance. Other factors that have links to the development of dementia may include infections, such as HIV or neurosyphilis, or thyroid disorders. It can reduce the size of the hippocampus, the area of the brain responsible for learning and memory. Some of alcohol’s effects on memory are apparent — maybe you wake up after a night of drinking and have a bruise you don’t remember getting, or you don’t recall any of the night’s previous events. Older people are also more vulnerable to injuries from falls due to changes in eyesight, spatial recognition, and bone health.

Does drinking alcohol affect your dementia risk? We asked a researcher for insights

Future studies need
to collect more detailed information about lifetime alcohol exposure because
imprecision in estimating lifetime exposure may obscure associations, as may
inconsistent definitions of drinking status or level of consumption. Evidence
that alcohol’s effects on AD might vary https://ecosoberhouse.com/article/relation-between-alcohol-and-dementia/ within subgroups also supports more
extensive data collection on variables that characterize these subgroups. The observation that alcohol
and tobacco use appear to influence each other’s association with AD is consistent
with evidence of a biological interaction between smoking and drinking.

But when the team looked at only the early-onset dementia cases, the percentage was much higher. Many studies support the strong link between alcohol use and Alzheimer’s disease. 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. Lewy body dementia is another progressive type of dementia that causes an accumulation of proteins called Lewy bodies in various brain areas.

Changes in Alcohol Consumption and Risk of Dementia in a Nationwide Cohort in South Korea

A methodological flaw in some of the case-control studies of AD (e.g., Cupples et al. 2000) has been the use of proxy-reported information for cases but self-reported data for controls. Although the weight of evidence from the studies summarized above suggests that alcohol use is not related to AD, any conclusions must take into account the methodological limitations of these types of studies. The early studies often failed to account for confounding factors; drinkers differ from nondrinkers in many characteristics such as tobacco use and educational level and it may be those characteristics that are related to the risk of AD rather than alcohol use per se. Both alcohol and AD substantially affect the cholinergic system, and thus it is plausible that alcohol use could be linked to AD through their common effects on this system. Early studies of AD from the 1980s focused on the cholinergic system because it was known to play an important role in memory. Its role in AD was confirmed, and deficits in the cholinergic system, such as lower levels of acetylcholine and fewer receptors (proteins that bind to neurotransmitters), are now well established in AD.

• Most of the cohorts were based in high-income countries; however, representation from low- and middle-income countries was provided by cohorts from Brazil and the Republic of Congo.
• Such factors include selective mortality
  of drinkers and diagnosing AD patients with heavy alcohol use as having alcoholic
  dementia rather than AD.
• Exercise helps the brain function better and keep it working at its best and most effective level.
• Although other neurotransmitter systems have since been implicated in AD, current treatment strategies still include repletion of cholinergic deficits (Forette and Boller 1999).

The Korean study also relied on people to report their own health habits, which researchers acknowledge as a limitation. Abstinence of up to one year is linked with improved attention, working memory, and problem-solving abilities. However, learning and short-term memory impairments may be more difficult to reverse even with abstinence. Alcohol-related dementia can cause problems with memory, learning, and other cognitive skills.

How Alcohol Is Linked to Memory Loss

While the two conditions share some similarities, they have different causes. Wernicke-Korkasoff syndrome is caused by a thiamine (Vitamin B1) deficiency, though heavy alcohol use can be an underlying cause of this deficiency. “Those who drink alcohol within the recommended guidelines are not advised to stop on the grounds of reducing the risk of dementia,” Jeon said, “although cutting back on alcohol consumption may bring other health benefits.” If you’re worried that drinking alcohol could raise the risk of dementia as you get older, a large new study from South Korea can provide some insights. That starts with the idea that in general, cutting down on alcohol is a good idea.

They also point out that, because only the most severe alcohol problems were involved in the study (those that involved hospitalization), it’s likely that heavy drinking could be an even bigger contributor to dementia than their results suggest. Memory and cognitive functions are some of the earliest signs of alcoholic dementia and should be treated immediately. In the later stages, a person’s ability to function physically will start to deteriorate. Consult your doctor about detoxification and rehabilitation programs to help you overcome your addiction and manage withdrawal symptoms. Those who develop ARD are at risk for many health complications, including liver damage or cirrhosis, pancreatitis, and mouth and throat cancers. Other complications that can arise from the disease include anemia, increased risk of cancer, and neurological problems such as strokes and seizures.

For example, they may have trouble coordinating movements normally because of poor muscle control or balance issues resulting from long-term alcohol abuse. They might fall more often or have more difficulty standing up without assistance than other people do. As alcohol circulates through your body, it reduces the ability of red blood cells to carry oxygen to vital organs and tissues, including the brain.

Cohort studies provide a stronger, longitudinal design (i.e., they collect data on alcohol use at baseline and follow study participants over time to determine whether they will develop AD). Case-control studies of alcohol use and AD compare people with AD (cases) with people without AD (controls) and determine whether alcohol consumption differs between the two groups. Studying factors that influence
the risk of developing AD may lead to the identification of those at high risk
for developing it, strategies for prevention or intervention, and clues to the
cause of the disease. Both genetic and environmental factors have been implicated
in the development of AD (Kawas and Katzman 1999), but the cause of AD remains
unknown, and no cure or universally effective treatment has yet been developed. Experts recommend that a medical workup for memory loss or other cognitive changes always include questions about an individual’s alcohol use.

Scientific Progress in Fighting Addiction: Deep Brain Stimulation

The rehab admission process can begin with a simple phone call to Summit Malibu, where our addiction treatment specialists are always available for confidential consultation. Treatment focuses on the physical aspects of addiction and does not consider the other dimensions that can contribute to relapse. To achieve lasting recovery, it is important to consider all dimensions of one’s body, mind, and spirit. For this reason, our centers offer family therapy as part of the treatment. Family members are taught skills that enable them to focus on themselves while communicating their feelings in a manner that will help them heal.