Two glasses of beer a day damage the brain like 10 years of natural aging

Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania in the USA have found a clear correlation between brain degradation and alcohol consumption, but admit that they have not found evidence of a causal relationship. But very accurately measured the dose of alcohol, which is threatening to the brain – only two glasses of beer a day.

The study was based on MRI scans from the collection of the British biobank UK Biobank, which is considered the largest in the world. Scientists were able to track down and interview 36,678 patients and compare the information from them with the received images. The sample turned out to be controversial, since only middle-aged Europeans living in the same country are represented in it. However, this was enough to identify patterns.

It turned out that alcohol consumption provokes changes in the structure and connectivity of the brain, it physically decreases in volume, and in different ways in individual parts. All this resembles a natural extinction due to aging, and scientists were able to calculate the proportions. So, half a glass of beer is equivalent to 6 months of aging, but already one full glass acts on the brain as 2 years of aging. A dose of 1.5 glasses is equal to 3.5 years of degradation, and two glasses of beer or one of wine hit the brain like 10 years of natural aging.

Researchers still have a lot of questions: for example, will the effect be preserved if you drink not every day, but only one day a week, but a lot? And is the reverse process possible if you stop drinking alcohol, or will it just slow down the degradation? Alas, there is too little data, and new research in this area is needed.