Midlife Problem Drinking Leads to Severe Memory Impairment in Later Life

Middle-aged adults with a history of drinking problems have more than a two-fold increased risk of suffering from severe memory impairment later in life.

People - whose siblings, parents or children abuse alcohol - have the highest risk of developing a drinking problem. Both men and women of all ages and backgrounds get affected by drinking problems and this is more common among men than women. Problem drinkers may be heavy drinkers, moderate drinkers or binge drinkers. Several studies have tied problem drinking to impaired memory.

The latest study, by researchers at the University of Exeter Medical School, states that problem drinking leads to memory loss later in life. Harmful patterns of alcohol consumption elevate the risk of developing dementia.

The study lead, Dr Iain Lang, said, "We already know there is an association between dementia risk and levels of current alcohol consumption - that understanding is based on asking older people how much they drink and then observing whether they develop problems. But this is only one part of the puzzle and we know little about the consequences of alcohol consumption earlier in life. What we did here is investigate the relatively unknown association between having a drinking problem at any point in life and experiencing problems with memory later in life."

In this study, the researchers looked at the relation between history of alcohol use disorder (AUD) and the onset of severe cognitive and memory impairment in 6542 middle-aged adults, who were born between 1931 and 1941. The participants were part of the Health and Recruitment study

Using CAGE (Cut down, annoyed, Guilt, Eye-Opener), the researchers identified the history of AUD. Those with a history of AUD had more than a two-fold increased risk of developing severe memory impairment.

"This finding - that middle-aged people with a history of problem drinking more than double their chances of memory impairment when they are older - suggests three things: that this is a public health issue that needs to be addressed; that more research is required to investigate the potential harms associated with alcohol consumption throughout life; and that the CAGE questionnaire may offer doctors a practical way to identify those at risk of memory/cognitive impairment and who may benefit from help to tackle their relationship with alcohol," said Lang.

The finding was documented in the American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry.