Journal
NEUROIMAGE-CLINICAL
Volume 35, Issue -, Pages -Publisher
ELSEVIER SCI LTD
DOI: 10.1016/j.nicl.2022.103066
Keywords
Alcohol; MRI; Cognition
Categories
Funding
- Wellcome Trust fellowship [216462/Z/19/Z]
- UK Medical Research Council [G1001354, MR/K013351/1]
- European Commission (Horizon 2020) [732592]
- Li Ka Shing Centre for Health Information and Discovery
- Wellcome Trust award [100309/Z/12/Z]
- NIH grant [R01EB026859]
- Wellcome Trust [216462/Z/19/Z, 100309/Z/12/Z] Funding Source: Wellcome Trust
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Moderate alcohol consumption may have impacts on brain structure and function, as evidenced by associations with multiple MRI markers such as grey matter volume, white matter microstructure, and functional connectivity. These associations are stronger than those with other modifiable factors and can be exacerbated by frequent binging, high blood pressure, and BMI.
Moderate alcohol consumption is widespread but its impact on brain structure and function is contentious. The relationship between alcohol intake and structural and functional neuroimaging indices, the threshold intake for associations, and whether population subgroups are at higher risk of alcohol-related brain harm remain unclear. 25,378 UK Biobank participants (mean age 54.9 +/- 7.4 years, 12,254 female) underwent multi-modal MRI 9.6 +/- 1.1 years after study baseline. Alcohol use was self-reported at baseline (2006-10). T1-weighted, diffusion weighted and resting state images were examined. Lower total grey matter volumes were observed in those drinking as little as 7-14 units (56-112 g) weekly. Higher alcohol consumption was associated with multiple markers of white matter microstructure, including lower fractional anisotropy, higher mean and radial diffusivity in a spatially distributed pattern across the brain. Associations between functional connectivity and alcohol intake were observed in the default mode, central executive, attention, salience and visual resting state networks. Relationships between total grey matter and alcohol were stronger than other modifiable factors, including blood pressure and smoking, and robust to unobserved confounding. Frequent binging, higher blood pressure and BMI steepened the negative association between alcohol and total grey matter volume. In this large observational cohort study, alcohol consumption was associated with multiple structural and functional MRI markers in mid-to late-life.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available