Associations between alcohol consumption and gray and white matter volumes in the UK Biobank
- PMID: 35246521
- PMCID: PMC8897479
- DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-28735-5
Associations between alcohol consumption and gray and white matter volumes in the UK Biobank
Abstract
Heavy alcohol consumption has been associated with brain atrophy, neuronal loss, and poorer white matter fiber integrity. However, there is conflicting evidence on whether light-to-moderate alcohol consumption shows similar negative associations with brain structure. To address this, we examine the associations between alcohol intake and brain structure using multimodal imaging data from 36,678 generally healthy middle-aged and older adults from the UK Biobank, controlling for numerous potential confounds. Consistent with prior literature, we find negative associations between alcohol intake and brain macrostructure and microstructure. Specifically, alcohol intake is negatively associated with global brain volume measures, regional gray matter volumes, and white matter microstructure. Here, we show that the negative associations between alcohol intake and brain macrostructure and microstructure are already apparent in individuals consuming an average of only one to two daily alcohol units, and become stronger as alcohol intake increases.
© 2022. The Author(s).
Conflict of interest statement
H.R.K. is a member of an advisory board for Dicerna Pharmaceuticals, Sophrosyne Pharmaceuticals, and Entheon Pharmaceuticals; a consultant to Sobrera Pharmaceuticals; a member of the American Society of Clinical Psychopharmacology’s Alcohol Clinical Trials Initiative, which was supported in the last three years by AbbVie, Alkermes, Dicerna, Ethypharm, Indivior, Lilly, Lundbeck, Otsuka, Pfizer, Arbor, and Amygdala Neurosciences; and is named as an inventor on PCT patent application #15/878,640 entitled: “Genotype-guided dosing of opioid agonists,” filed January 24, 2018. All other authors declare no competing interests.
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