Research has revealed the worrying link found in the United States between intensive alcohol consumption and more serious and earlier strokes. The study, which analyzed 1,600 patients hospitalized for cerebral hemorrhage, explains that those who drink three or more drinks a day suffer a stroke 11 years earlier than those who do not consume alcohol or do so moderately.
Research shows that patients with these drinking habits arrive at the hospital with brain hemorrhages that, in addition to being up to 70% larger, tend to lodge in deeper areas of the brain, further compromising their prognosis. In fact, they are almost twice as likely to experience a particularly dangerous combination: The stroke spreads to the ventricles of the brain, something that specialists link to worse recovery rates and a greater risk of severe disability. The study is published today in the journal Neurologyfrom the American Academy of Neurology.
“Cerebral hemorrhage is one of the most lethal and disabling conditions known to man,” says Edip Gurol, lead author of the study and a researcher in the Department of Neurology at Massachusetts General Hospital. “They appear suddenly, cause severe damage, and often leave patients with life-changing disabilities. It is one of the most difficult diseases to overcome,” adds this researcher.
In their study, the scientists defined heavy drinking as regularly consuming three or more alcoholic drinks per day, which is equivalent to about 42 grams of alcohol, such as three cans of beer or three glasses of wine. The analysis highlighted a marked age difference: patients classified as drinkers strong They suffered the stroke at an average age of 64 years. The rest of the patients, who drank fewer than three drinks or none at all, suffered their stroke at an average age of 75, a difference of 11 years. Although most of the patients studied were Caucasian, Gurol believes the findings are “very generalizable” to other populations, such as African-American, Hispanic or Asian patients.
For neurologist José Manuel Moltó, “the work is good and they have collected data from a significant number of patients”, although he clarifies that “they have not discovered anything new, but rather have systematized very well” the study of an already known risk factor. Moltó, neurologist at the Hospital Verge dels Lliris in Alcoi and member of the Spanish Society of Neurology (SEN), believes that perhaps excess alcohol on cognitive impairment or the liver “is better known”; So this study, in which he was not involved, could help better understand the neurological impacts of alcohol consumption.
There is no such thing as safe consumption
Moltó clarifies that, in the Spanish context, “three daily consumption, for many people, is not high, even if it is”. The expert believes that the weak point of many studies is self-reported consumption, that is, patients say how much they drink, and this may not correspond to reality. “Perhaps the most important thing is to know whether the habit is continuous,” he emphasizes.
The team behind the new study also linked excessive alcohol consumption to more severe signs of small vessel disease (SVD), chronic damage to the brain’s tiny arteries that is a key risk factor for both stroke and cognitive decline. Heavy drinkers were three times more likely to have severe signs of damage to the brain’s white matter, an indicator of advanced VPD. Researchers suggest that alcohol works in two ways: by increasing blood pressure – which damages and weakens blood vessels – and by reducing the number of platelets – which makes clotting difficult and stops any leakage. According to Moltó, this involvement of small vessels is a “very well-known, very common” phenomenon and has traditionally been associated with other risk factors such as “hypertension and diabetes”.
All this suggests that there is no such thing as completely safe alcohol consumption. “Minimizing or stopping drinking alcohol is an important step in reducing your risks,” Gurol says. “Even for people who have a relatively low risk of brain hemorrhage, limiting alcohol consumption to no more than three drinks per week can be an effective measure to protect against all types of stroke and preserve brain and cardiovascular health,” he adds. Moltó agrees that moderate alcohol consumption “has no proven beneficial effect” and that reducing it should be part of a comprehensive prevention strategy. “A lot can be done to prevent both stroke and cognitive impairment by controlling tension, diabetes and reducing alcohol consumption to a very small amount,” concludes Moltó, adding this guideline to a healthy and active lifestyle.
