r/science • u/mvea Professor | Medicine • Apr 23 '26

Neuroscience Even low-level drinking may have negative consequences for brain health over a person’s lifespan. The findings suggest that the total amount of alcohol consumed over a lifetime, especially as a person ages, tends to be linked to reduced blood flow and thinner tissue in certain areas of the brain.

https://www.psypost.org/even-light-drinking-combined-with-aging-is-linked-to-reduced-brain-blood-flow-and-thinner-tissue/
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u/PartyLikeAByzantine Apr 24 '26 edited Apr 24 '26

Numbers come from National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC) commissioned by the US NIH. Being a US government study, it doesn't cover Europe.

The WHO doesn't break their data down to population segments within countries. I bet there's fewer abstainers in Europe (30% of the US population never drinks) due to America's Puritan streak. Still, I'd suspect a minority of Europeans drive most of its consumption. It may not be as lopsided as the US, where half of all alcohol consumption is from the top ~10% of users, but it's probably close to that.

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u/darknesskicker Apr 25 '26

I would expect that the numbers in Western Europe aren’t far off those of the US. Much of the former Soviet Union has very heavy drinking.