CINCINNATI (WKRC) – A new study found that heavy drinkers are at higher risk of brain injury, specifically brain lesions.
The postmortem study looked at over 1,700 people who died at around the age of 75 for signs of brain injury.
The study found that heavy drinkers (classified as someone who drinks eight or more alcoholic beverages per week) had a much higher chance of developing brain injuries. Most notably, they had a 133% higher chance to develop a brain lesion than non-drinkers.
The risk wasn’t isolated to the heavy drinkers alone, however, as former heavy drinkers still had an 89% higher risk, while moderate drinkers had a 60% higher risk.
“I think these are compelling results that link heavy alcohol consumption with lasting impacts on the brain,” said Dr. Leana Wen, CNN‘s wellness expert, previous Baltimore health commissioner, and emergency physician. “It’s especially telling that former heavy drinkers have evidence of sustained damage, although halting that heavy drinking does appear to lower risk.”
Despite the alarming discovery, Wen said that the severity of the study should still be taken in proportion.
“There are caveats to this study,” Wen said. “It is important to point out that these findings are associations that are suggestive, rather than proof of cause and effect.”