Abstract
Heavy alcohol consumption has been associated with brain atrophy, neuronal loss, and poorer white matter fiber integrity. However, there is conflicting evidence on whether light-to-moderate alcohol consumption shows similar negative associations with brain structure. To address this, we examine the associations between alcohol intake and brain structure using multimodal imaging data from 36,678 generally healthy middle-aged and older adults from the UK Biobank, controlling for numerous potential confounds. Consistent with prior literature, we find negative associations between alcohol intake and brain macrostructure and microstructure. Specifically, alcohol intake is negatively associated with global brain volume measures, regional gray matter volumes, and white matter microstructure. Here, we show that the negative associations between alcohol intake and brain macrostructure and microstructure are already apparent in individuals consuming an average of only one to two daily alcohol units, and become stronger as alcohol intake increases.
Highlights
Heavy alcohol consumption has been associated with brain atrophy, neuronal loss, and poorer white matter fiber integrity
Because conventional diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) measures (FA and mean diffusivity (MD)) are based on a simplistic brain tissue microstructure model, they fail to account for the complexities of neurite geometry[25]
The current study examines the associations between alcohol intake and measures of GM structure and white matter (WM) microstructure in the brain in a large population sample
Summary
Heavy alcohol consumption has been associated with brain atrophy, neuronal loss, and poorer white matter fiber integrity. Consistent with prior literature, we find negative associations between alcohol intake and brain macrostructure and microstructure. Alcohol intake is negatively associated with global brain volume measures, regional gray matter volumes, and white matter microstructure. Chronic excessive alcohol consumption is associated with direct and indirect adverse effects, including (but not limited to) cardiovascular disease[4], nutritional deficiency[5], cancer[6], and accelerated aging[7–9]. Chronic alcohol use is associated with changes in brain structure and connectivity[9–11]. Neuroimaging studies have shown that chronic heavy alcohol consumption (3 or more drinks for women and 4 or more drinks for men on any day) is associated with widespread patterns of macrostructural and microstructural changes, primarily affecting frontal, diencephalic, hippocampal, and cerebellar structures[9,10,12]. Alcohol consumption can produce global and regional tissue volume changes, frontal regions are associated with these effects[14–16]. The lower FA observed in individuals with AUD may reflect lower neurite density and/or greater orientation dispersion of neurites, which conventional DTI measures do not differentiate[26,27]
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