Alcohol Use Can Dramatically Increase the Risk of Dementia

When cognitive impairment is sustained over time as a result of excessive alcohol use, dementia symptoms can develop. Alcohol interferes with the brain’s natural ability to clear metabolic waste products, including proteins implicated in Alzheimer’s disease. Studies suggest that high alcohol intake can accelerate the accumulation of amyloid-beta plaques and the hyperphosphorylation of tau protein. These protein aggregates are the defining pathological hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease, linked to neuronal death and cognitive decline.

• The process typically includes evaluating the senior’s medical history, alcohol consumption patterns, and cognitive functioning, and ruling out other potential causes of dementia.
• One of the less known effects of alcoholism is its potential to cause Lewy body dementia.
• However, your healthcare team may recommend medicine to treat the symptoms of withdrawal.
• They had slightly higher average clinical dementia rating scores compared to never-drinkers.

Can Alcoholism Increase Your Risk of Alzheimer’s?

Thiamine is essential for brain health, and a thiamine deficiency can lead to permanent brain damage. In most cases, symptoms of alcohol-related dementia stop progressing and even improve once a person quits drinking, according to the Alzheimer’s Society. As our understanding of brain health evolves, researchers are increasingly focusing on the impact of lifestyle factors, including alcohol consumption, on cognitive function.

• A unit is dependent on the amount of pure alcohol in a given volume and can be calculated for specific drinks.
• Some programs last 30 days, while others may continue for 60 or 90 days or more.
• Options may include inpatient or outpatient detoxification from alcohol, and sometimes, medication is necessary to help a person stop drinking.
• ARBD doesn’t always get worse over time, unlike common causes of dementia such as Alzheimer’s disease.
• The overlap of symptoms makes it crucial for clinicians to carefully evaluate and consider the possibility of an underlying neurologic disorder in these situations.

A diagnosis of dementia requires a comprehensive physical and psychological evaluation. This includes cognitive testing, which involves assessing thinking and problem-solving skills. The brains of participants who were drinking three units of alcohol a day over the previous month had reductions in both white and gray matter, making their brains appear three and a half years older. For reference, one unit is considered a half pint of beer or a small glass of wine.

Getting Help for Alcohol Abuse and Addiction

Alcohol-related dementia is a form of alcohol-related brain damage, and can happen when severe alcohol abuse or heavy drinking occurs over a long period of time. Alcohol-related dementia is a condition caused by long-term alcohol abuse that leads to cognitive impairments, such as memory loss, poor judgment, and difficulty performing daily tasks. It is often linked to nutritional deficiencies and alcohol’s toxic effects on the brain.

What Causes Alcoholic Dementia?

Drinking heavily also increases the risk of strokes and traumatic brain injuries. Additionally, many older people also experience a slow degeneration of the cells in the hippocampus. Even when it is not severe enough to cause symptoms of dementia, when you add the effects of heavy alcohol use, memory loss can be very serious. While the direct line between alcohol abuse and dementia is complex, certain forms of dementia are closely linked to alcoholism. This neurocognitive disorder, attributed to thiamine (Vitamin B1) deficiency, is often found in chronic alcoholics.

Getting a diagnosis of ARBD

The effects of alcohol are cumulative, and over time, they can become pronounced. Heavy drinking often leads to poor dietary habits and malabsorption of nutrients. Alcoholics are especially prone to thiamine (Vitamin B1) deficiency, which is critical for brain function. A lack of thiamine can result in Wernicke’s encephalopathy, a condition that causes confusion, lack of coordination, and eye movement abnormalities. If left untreated, this can progress to Korsakoff’s syndrome, a severe form of alcohol-related dementia. Those odds were 89 percent higher for former heavy drinkers and 60 percent higher for moderate drinkers.

A vitamin B1 deficiency can also lead to Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome (WKS), a type of dementia linked to heavy alcohol use. This condition causes a decline in short-term memory in Oxford House the early stages of the disease. The condition also leads to an unusual pattern of walking and confabulation (false memories).

A lifelong approach to good health is the best way to lower your risk of dementia. Alcohol also disrupts the blood-brain barrier, which normally protects the central nervous system. A compromised barrier allows inflammatory molecules and toxins to enter the brain more easily, exacerbating the inflammatory response characteristic of Alzheimer’s pathology. This shared inflammatory pathway suggests that alcohol use disorder may accelerate the progression of AD by leveraging the same molecular mechanisms. Behaviors can be unpredictable and uninhibited, and communication is difficult and could become impossible.

Alcohol-related dementia usually affects people between the ages of 40 and 50 who have been drinking heavily for years. But you can develop alcohol-related dementia at any age if you’re drinking more alcohol than is safe. Overusing alcohol can damage nerves and blood vessels in your brain. Over time, that damage can add up and destroy special nerve cells called neurons. You can start to lose the functions that area of your brain controls if alcohol destroys those neurons. Healthcare providers can suggest treatments to manage the symptoms you experience.

The sooner you treat alcohol-related dementia, the better your chances of recovery. Note that alcohol-related dementia is sometimes confused with Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome. While the two conditions share some similarities, they have different causes.

Reset Your Mind: Benefits of Inpatient Mental Health Care

• At this stage, individuals often require full-time care, and recovery becomes increasingly challenging, though supportive treatment can improve quality of life.
• Your provider will suggest treatments to help you manage the symptoms you’re experiencing.
• The effects of alcohol on the brain can be profound, but recovery is possible with the right care.
• Our dedicated team offers compassionate support, ensuring you have the guidance and resources needed to navigate your journey to sobriety and wellness.

This disease is rarer than Alzheimer’s and it most commonly affects individuals under the age of 60. One interesting bit of information about frontotemporal dementia is that people that suffer from it tend to have unusual amounts of types of proteins in the brain. Additionally, alcohol can cause liver damage, which can lead to liver disease, increase the risk of liver cancer, and make it harder for the liver to filter out toxins from our blood and our system. NICE Guidelines recommend that alcohol consumption be reduced as much as possible, particularly in mid-life, to minimize the risk of developing age-related conditions such as frailty and dementia. These findings demonstrate a correlation at the population level, not a definitive causation of Alzheimer’s pathology in every individual. Excessive alcohol intake is a major contributor to cognitive decline and dementia.

A doctor can prescribe medications to help with withdrawal symptoms. Your provider will help you set realistic expectations based on your health and unique situation. Drinking too much alcohol too often causes alcohol-related dementia. But the more (and more often) you drink, the higher your risk of ARBD.