Alcohol

Study: Alcohol might cause brain changes

In a recent national survey of over 30,000 college students, almost 2 out of 3 college students reported using ANY alcohol in the last 30 days (1).

In 2011, almost 70 million Americans reported binge drinking in the last month ( binge drinking defined by the survey as 5 or more drinks on one occasion) (2).

In some people, alcohol can impact emotional health by altering important brain chemicals involved in regulating mood, anxiety.

A previous post looked at the impact of alcohol on grades (3), and alcohol’s impact on sexual assault (4). A recent study looked at the impact of alcohol on brain health (5).

Who was studied? (5)

  • 550 men and women with mean age 43.0, were followed weekly over a 30 year time period.
  • None of the participants had alcohol dependence at the beginning of the study.
  • What was measured? (5)
  • Alcohol intake and cognitive performance were measured on a weekly basis.
  • Multimodal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was performed at the end of the study (2012-15).Even after adjusting for various factors:

What were the results? (5)

  • In this study, higher alcohol consumption over 30 years was associated with higher odds of hippocampal atrophy.
  • Even those drinking moderately (14-21 units/week) had 3x higher odds of right sided hippocampal atrophy.
  • In this study, there was NO protective effect of light drinking (1-<7 units/week) over abstinence.
  • Higher alcohol use was also associated with differences in corpus callosum microstructure and faster decline in lexical fluency (selecting and retrieving information based on spelling).

What does this mean? (5)

  • Hippocampus changes are implicated in Alzheimer’s disease (6) and depression (7)
  • Alcohol consumption might also impact lexical fluency (selecting and retrieving information based on spelling) (5)
  • Caution is advised even with long term non dependent use of alcohol.

What are some caveats?

  • This is a single, small study of middle age adults in a small region, which limits generalization world wide.
  • Participants could not be randomized.
  • Further study is needed.

Where can I learn more about alcohol?

How much is too much, strategies for cutting down, quitting can be found here:

From what I have seen in research, the amount of alcohol that is considered safe continues to be lowered as we learn more about the impact of alcohol.

Are you regularly drinking alcohol?  How is it impacting your emotional and physical health?

By R. Ryan S Patel DO, FAPA OSU-CCS Psychiatrist

Disclaimer: This article is intended to be informative only. It is advised that you check with your own physician/mental health provider before implementing any changes. With this article, the author is not rendering medical advice, nor diagnosing, prescribing, or treating any condition, or injury; and therefore claims no responsibility to any person or entity for any liability, loss, or injury caused directly or indirectly as a result of the use, application, or interpretation of the material presented.

References

  1. American College Health Association. American College Health Association-National College Health Assessment II: Reference Group Executive Summary Fall 2016. Hanover, MD: American College Health Association; 2017.
  2. Center for Behavioral Health Statistics and Quality. Behavioral health trends in the United States: Results from the 2014 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (HHS Publication No. SMA 15-4927, NSDUH Series H-50); 2015.
  3. https://u.osu.edu/emotionalfitness/2014/09/12/does-alcohol-use-impact-your-grades/
  4. https://u.osu.edu/emotionalfitness/2015/10/21/study-alcohol-impacts-sexual-assault/
  5. Topiwala Anya, Allan Charlotte L, Valkanova Vyara, Zsoldos Enikő, Filippini Nicola, Sexton Claire et al. Moderate alcohol consumption as risk factor for adverse brain outcomes and cognitive decline: longitudinal cohort study BMJ 2017; 357 :j2353.
  6. McKhann GM, Knopman DS, Chertkow H, et al. The diagnosis of dementia due to Alzheimer’s disease: recommendations from the National Institute on Aging-Alzheimer’s Association workgroups on diagnostic guidelines for Alzheimer’s disease. Alzheimers Dement2011;357:263-9.
  7. Masi, G. & Brovedani, P. CNS Drugs (2011) 25: 913. doi:10.2165/11595900-000000000-00000.  The Hippocampus, Neurotrophic Factors and Depression.

 

Study: Smoking might increase your alcohol intake

By R. Ryan S Patel DO, FAPA, OSU-CCS Psychiatrist    alcohol and smokes (3)

Over 26 studies show (4) that smoking contributes to anxiety and depression and that you can feel good and increase happiness by quitting tobacco.
Students might also know about smoking cigarettes raising your risk of cancer, stroke, heart disease, breathing problems (1) and that quitting smoking can reduce these risks (2-3).
A recent study suggests smoking might increase your alcohol consumption (5-6).

What was the study?
In this animal study (5-6), rats were trained to press a bar to obtain alcohol and were exposed to nicotine or saline in different experimental designs.

What did the study show?
This study showed that, in alcohol-dependent animals, nicotine increased:
• The speed at which alcohol was ingested,
• The amount of work that animals would do to obtain alcohol (i.e., the number of times they would press a bar to get one dose), and
• The amount of drinking despite adverse consequences

What do the results suggest?
Quitting smoking might help you drink less or quit alcohol completely. Further study is needed.

How can I quit smoking?
http://swc.osu.edu/alcohol-tobacco-other-drugs/quit-tobacco/
http://tobaccofree.osu.edu/resources/
http://smokefree.gov/
http://www.cancer.org/healthy/stayawayfromtobacco/guidetoquittingsmoking/index
http://www.cancer.org/cancer/cancercauses/tobaccocancer/smokelesstobaccoandhowtoquit/index

Where can I learn more about alcohol?
How much is too much, Strategies for cutting down, quitting can be found here:
http://www.ccs.osu.edu/self-help/alcohol/
http://rethinkingdrinking.niaaa.nih.gov/default.asp

Take the OSU Free Anonymous Mental health Screen

Is smoking impacting your alcohol intake? Could you stand to feel better? Perform better academically? What other consequences are you experiencing from smoking or alcohol or both?

Disclaimer: This article is intended to be informative only. It is advised that you check with your own physician/mental health provider before implementing any changes. With this article, the author is not rendering medical advice, nor diagnosing, prescribing, or treating any condition, or injury; and therefore claims no responsibility to any person or entity for any liability, loss, or injury caused directly or indirectly as a result of the use, application, or interpretation of the material presented.

References
1. US Department of Health and Human Services. The health consequences of smoking: a
report of the Surgeon General. US Department of Health and Human Services, 2004.
2. US Department of Health and Human Services. The health benefits of smoking cessation.
US Department of Health and Human Services, 1990.
3. Pirie K, Peto R, Reeves G, Green J, Beral V. The 21st century hazards of smoking and
benefits of stopping: a prospective study of one million women in the UK. Lancet
2013;381:133-41.
4. Taylor G, et al. Change in mental health after smoking cessation: systematic review and meta-analysis. OPEN ACCESS. BMJ 2014;348:g1151 doi: 10.1136/bmj.g1151 (Published 13 February 2014).

5. Leão RM et al. Chronic nicotine activates stress/reward-related brain regions and facilitates the transition to compulsive alcohol drinking. J Neurosci 2015 Apr 15; 35:6241. (http://dx.doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.3302-14.2015);
6. May 4, 2015. Want to Stop Drinking? Don’t Smoke. Steven Dubovsky MD reviewing Leão RM et al. J Neurosci 2015 Apr 15. http://www.jwatch.org/na37661/2015/05/04/want-stop-drinking-dont-smoke?query=etoc_jwpsych#sthash.94sXS2T4.dpuf

Does alcohol use impact your grades?

Cups of beerFor many college students, it is important to maintain their best academic performance for a variety of reasons. After all, who doesn’t want good grades?  Good grades will lead to good opportunities, internships, good jobs, etc.

Even a small amount of alcohol can impact your grades.

First, a definition: Binge drinking (high risk for alcohol related problems) is defined as 4 or more drinks in one drinking occasion for women and 5 or more drinks for men; where a standard drink is 12 oz 5% beer, 5 oz wine, or 1.5 oz (1 shot of 80 proof liquor)   (1).

It has been shown that, compared to those who did NOT drink alcohol, binge drinking  2 or more times in a typical 2-week period was linked to significantly lower semester grades for both the  1st year and senior level students (2 ).  Translation: binge drinking lowers grades.

Another study shows that even drinking alcohol to the point of getting drunk has a negative predictive impact on your GPA (3).  Translation: even smaller amounts of alcohol could hurt your grades.

According to some evidence based guidelines, moderate drinking (low risk for alcohol problems) is defined as (a maximum) <1 drink per day for women and <2 drinks per day for men; with the gender difference being related to biology (4).

However, it is important to note that there is low risk use, there is no risk free amount of alcohol use.

Additionally, there are people who should not drink alcohol at all (4):

  • If you cannot limit drinking to low level or are recovering from alcoholism.
  • Women who may become pregnant or who are pregnant.
  • Individuals who plan to drive, operate machinery, or take part in other activities that require attention, skill, or coordination.
  • If you have certain medical conditions, sensitivity to alcohol, or are taking prescription or over-the-counter medications, you should check with your prescriber before drinking any alcohol.

Additionally, you are at high risk for addiction if you have a personal or family history of alcohol use disorders, and thus should not drink alcohol (5).

Having a healthy brain will help you be in the best position for success. Is alcohol impacting your grades? Is alcohol trying to control you? Are you unable to drink safely? At ccs.osu.edu, we have resources that can help.  Also consider the National Drug and Alcohol Treatment Referral Routing Service available at 1-800-662-HELP (6).

  1.  NIAAA council approves definition of binge drinking [PDF-1.6MB]. NIAAA Newsletter 2004;3:3.
  2.  Journal of College Student Development, 48(6), 715-727.
  3.  Wolaver, A. (2002). Effect of Heavy Drinking in College on Student Effort, Grade Point Average, and Major Choice. Contemporary Economic Policy, 20(4), 415-428.
  4. Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2010. Chapter 3 – Foods and Food Components to Reduce [PDF-967KB]. 7th Edition, Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office; 2010, p. 30–32
  5. United States Department of Agriculture. Dietary guidelines for Americans 2005. Available at: www.health.gov/DIETARYGUIDELINES/dga2005/document/html/chapter9.htm
  6. http://www.cdc.gov/alcohol/faqs.htm#standDrink. Accessed September, 2014.

Disclaimer: This article is intended to be informative only. It is advised that you check with your own physician/mental health provider before implementing any changes.  With this article, the author is not rendering medical advice, nor diagnosing, prescribing, or treating any condition, or injury; and therefore claims no responsibility to any person or entity for any liability, loss, or injury caused directly or indirectly as a result of the use, application, or interpretation of the material presented.