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The long-term effects of alcohol have been extensively researched. The health effects of long-term alcohol consumption vary depending on the amount consumed. Even light drinking poses health risks, [1] but atypically small amounts of alcohol may have health benefits. [2] Alcoholism causes severe health consequences which outweigh any potential ...
That report still concluded that heavy drinking (five or more drinks a day or 15 or more per week for men; four or more a day or eight and up for women) is linked to higher risks of death from any ...
Animal studies find that heavy and regular binge drinking causes neurodegeneration in corticolimbic brain regions areas which are involved in learning and spatial memory. The corticolimbic brain regions affected include the olfactory bulb , piriform cortex , perirhinal cortex , entorhinal cortex , and the hippocampal dentate gyrus .
Regular heavy drinking and heavy episodic drinking (also called binge drinking), entailing four or more standard alcoholic drinks (a pint of beer or 50 ml drink of a spirit such as whisky corresponds to about two units of alcohol) on any one occasion, pose the greatest risk for harm, but lesser amounts can cause problems as well. [55]
They defined heavy drinking as greater than or equal to five drinks a day or 15 drinks a week for males and greater than or equal to four drinks a day or eight drinks a week for females.
The long-term impact of alcohol on the brain has become a growing area of research focus. While researchers have found that moderate alcohol consumption in older adults is associated with better cognition and well-being than abstinence, [ 1 ] excessive alcohol consumption is associated with widespread and significant brain lesions .
Alcohol-related dementia is a broad term currently preferred among medical professionals. [10] If a person has alcohol-related 'dementia' they will struggle with day-to-day tasks. This is because of the damage to their brain, caused by regularly drinking too much alcohol over many years. [17] This affects memory, learning and other mental ...
Alcohol tolerance is increased by regular drinking. [1] This reduced sensitivity to the physical effects of alcohol consumption requires that higher quantities of alcohol be consumed in order to achieve the same effects as before tolerance was established. Alcohol tolerance may lead to (or be a sign of) alcohol dependence. [1]