April is Alcohol Awareness Month.
The National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism reports the following:
Alcohol and the Brain: An Overview
“Alcohol interferes with the brain’s communication pathways and can affect the way the brain looks and works. Alcohol makes it harder for the brain areas controlling balance, memory, speech, and judgment to do their jobs, resulting in a higher likelihood of injuries and other negative outcomes. Long-term heavy drinking causes alterations in the neurons, such as reductions in their size.”
The CDC reports: Modifiable Risk Factors and Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias.
Modifiable risk factors are the lifestyle and behaviors that can reduce or increase a person’s chances of developing a disease. For example, there are modifiable risk factors that could reduce your risk of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD), slow its progression, or increase your risk of ADRD. Most modifiable risk factors for ADRD are related to cardiovascular disease and other chronic health conditions. They include hypertension, not getting enough physical exercise, obesity, diabetes, depression, smoking, hearing loss, and binge drinking. Maintaining a healthy lifestyle and managing related chronic conditions is good for your overall physical health, facilitates and improves brain health, and may help decrease the risk of dementia or slow its progression.
From my four decades experience working with older adults, while this risk factor continues to be studied, when looking at brain health and prevention of cognitive decline in older adults, it is prudent to greatly modify the use of alcohol and ensure that there are no interactions with medications. Older adults with hearing, visual and mobility impairments that are driving can be at a much higher risk for accidents and falls if they are drinking alcohol. Every individual should have this discussion of risk factors for alcohol use with their primary care providers, especially if they are experiencing any type of cognitive impairment.
