Why the "just one drink a day" excuse no longer cuts it
According to a new study, those who have one standard drink a day are putting themselves at risk of permanent brain damage.
The study of almost 21,000 people, published in the PLOS Medicine journal, found that consumption of seven or more units of alcohol per week is associated with higher iron levels in the brain.
More iron in the brain is also linked to Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease and is a potential mechanism for alcohol-related cognitive decline.
The participants reported their own alcohol consumption, and their brains were scanned using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).
Of those participants, 7,000 of them also had MRIs on their livers imaged to see the levels of systemic iron.
They were also required to complete a few tasks to assess their cognitive and motor function.
The participants' average age was 55 years old and 48.6 per cent were female.
Anya Topiwala of the University of Oxford, United Kingdom, and her colleagues found that alcohol consumption above seven units per week led to higher iron levels in basal ganglia - the part of the brain that helps with movement.
“Markers of higher basal ganglia iron associated with slower executive function, lower fluid intelligence, and slower reaction times,” the study reported.
“Iron accumulation in some brain regions was associated with worse cognitive function.”
They concluded that moderate alcohol consumption is associated with higher iron levels in the brain.
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