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Drinking alcohol daily speeds up brain aging by one week per session – Insider

19 points by evo_9 7y ago

zenmaster10665 7y ago
This seems so precise as to be unbelievable...
- shric 7y ago
  It's only precise because it's an average.
daze42 7y ago
The headline and the article are both poorly worded. "The team found that for every gram of alcohol consumed a day, the brain aged 0.02 years — or, seven-and-a-half days. (The average can of beer or small glass of wine contains 14 grams of alcohol)" It makes it sound like every drink you have ages your brain by a week and that's not actually what the study says. What it really says is if you have one drink a day for an entire year, it ages the brain 11 days.
mikesabat 7y ago
This article is confusing. I think what they are reporting is, if you have a drink everyday for a year it will age your brain at the rate of 7 days per gram of daily alcohol. They forgot to mention the "every day for a year" in the stat. "The team found that for every gram of alcohol consumed a day, the brain aged 0.02 years — or, seven-and-a-half days. (The average can of beer or small glass of wine contains 14 grams of alcohol). People who reported drinking every day had brains which were, on average, 0.4 years older than people who didn't drink daily. Smoking had even stronger effect: the team found that those who smoke a pack of cigarettes a day for a year age their brains by 0.03 years (11 days)."
DennisP 7y ago
For those with ad blockers, this is basically the same article: https://www.inverse.com/mind-body/alcohol-and-the-brain-how-much-booze-ages-the-mind https://www.inverse.com/mind-body/alcohol-and-the-brain-how-...
nashashmi 7y ago
It's known as wet brain syndrome among excessive alcohol consumers. Even when sober, they are still drink.
RickJWagner 7y ago
I wish there was more information about past-history drinking. When I was in my teens (about 40 years ago), I drank quite a lot. I completely stopped about 20 years ago. I feel much better, don't miss the hangovers, etc. I know that the ill effects of smoking are supposed to decrease after the smoking stops-- I hope it's true of drinking, too. Does anybody have any idea about this?

19 points by evo_9 7y ago

zenmaster10665 7y ago

This seems so precise as to be unbelievable...

shric 7y ago
It's only precise because it's an average.

daze42 7y ago

The headline and the article are both poorly worded. "The team found that for every gram of alcohol consumed a day, the brain aged 0.02 years — or, seven-and-a-half days. (The average can of beer or small glass of wine contains 14 grams of alcohol)" It makes it sound like every drink you have ages your brain by a week and that's not actually what the study says. What it really says is if you have one drink a day for an entire year, it ages the brain 11 days.

mikesabat 7y ago

This article is confusing. I think what they are reporting is, if you have a drink everyday for a year it will age your brain at the rate of 7 days per gram of daily alcohol. They forgot to mention the "every day for a year" in the stat. "The team found that for every gram of alcohol consumed a day, the brain aged 0.02 years — or, seven-and-a-half days. (The average can of beer or small glass of wine contains 14 grams of alcohol). People who reported drinking every day had brains which were, on average, 0.4 years older than people who didn't drink daily. Smoking had even stronger effect: the team found that those who smoke a pack of cigarettes a day for a year age their brains by 0.03 years (11 days)."

DennisP 7y ago

For those with ad blockers, this is basically the same article: https://www.inverse.com/mind-body/alcohol-and-the-brain-how-much-booze-ages-the-mind https://www.inverse.com/mind-body/alcohol-and-the-brain-how-...

nashashmi 7y ago

It's known as wet brain syndrome among excessive alcohol consumers. Even when sober, they are still drink.

RickJWagner 7y ago

I wish there was more information about past-history drinking. When I was in my teens (about 40 years ago), I drank quite a lot. I completely stopped about 20 years ago. I feel much better, don't miss the hangovers, etc. I know that the ill effects of smoking are supposed to decrease after the smoking stops-- I hope it's true of drinking, too. Does anybody have any idea about this?