Heavy drinkers die an average of 13 years earlier than nondrinkers and face more than double the risk of brain vascular damage, according to a new brain autopsy study.
Drinking Linked to Brain Vascular Condition
The study, recently published in the journal Neurology, looked at nearly 1,800 participants and found that heavy and former heavy drinking is linked to brain changes associated with cognitive decline and dementia, such as neurofibrillary tangles, which is abnormal accumulations of a protein associated with Alzheimer’s and vascular damage.Researchers examined the autopsy results of deceased people who were ages 50 and older. They were categorized into four groups of drinkers: never, moderate, heavy, and former heavy.
