For some, that .8% will never be enough.
No safe level of alcohol for brain health: observational cohort study [pdf]
31–40 of 102 posts
Re: No safe level of alcohol for brain health: observational cohort study [pdf]
#32Submission title gets it wrong. What the study found was that of the total variance in the amount of gray matter, only 0.8% of that variance could be explained by alcohol consumption.
So basically the result from this study could be re-stated as "alcohol consumption has no significant influence on grey matter volume"?
In the study they say that 27% of the variance is explained by age. So the effect of alcohol consumption certainly is insignificant compared to the effect of age.
However, the authors think the effect of alcohol is notable because that 0.8% was still larger than any other factor they tested, like smoking.
Re: No safe level of alcohol for brain health: observational cohort study [pdf]
#33Median alcohol intake was 13.5 units ( 102g) weekly That was among people who drank at all; for reference, that's just under two standard drinks per day, which is apparently what the UK considers the threshold of "low risk".
There is a very large population of non-drinkers. Some surveys say that upwards of 50% of North America has less than a handful of drinks a year (ie only holidays/weddings and such). While that doesn't qualify as total abstinence, from a medical/safety perspective such people are dry. What has happened in recent decades is that those who do drink regularly tend to drink more.
https://www.alcohol.org/guides/volume-of-non-drinkers-by-us-...
Re: No safe level of alcohol for brain health: observational cohort study [pdf]
#34Haven’t had a drop in fourteen years after being a weekend binge drinker. I don’t begrudge the substance, but it has been transformative being this far removed from it. The downside? Dear god have I missed the taste of beer. La Croix and other products don’t fill the gap. There has thankfully been an explosion in the NA craft beer scene in the last few years, and some of them are good enough that I’ve had friends who…
> he cop became immensely excited when she thought she'd get me for a DUI
That alone is pretty messed up. A cop should be annoyed and disappointed to be in that situation. Arresting and booking someone should be a big hassle that they shouldn't want. And let's say you had been drinking alcohol; who knows how long you might have been drinking before you got pulled over... who knows who you might have killed. And a cop is reacting with happiness that they might have gotten you on a DUI? Gross.
Re: No safe level of alcohol for brain health: observational cohort study [pdf]
#35I need some more context in order to understand the actual risks being suggested here. I fall into the "low to moderate" drinking category described in the study. First, when we say 0.8% of gray matter, over what time period does that loss occur? The authors don't seem to know. Second, what sort of effects does losing, say, 1% of gray matter integrity have? Increased risk of stroke, seizure, etc.? Effects on intellec…
The study doesn't infer causality. It could just be that people who drink happen to belong to the same class of people who lose 0.8% of grey matter.
Re: No safe level of alcohol for brain health: observational cohort study [pdf]
#36Submission title gets it wrong. What the study found was that of the total variance in the amount of gray matter, only 0.8% of that variance could be explained by alcohol consumption.
So basically the result from this study could be re-stated as "alcohol consumption has no significant influence on grey matter volume"?
> Alcohol consumption was linearly and negatively associated with indices of brain health across most of the brain.
> Detrimental effects of drinking appear to be greater than other modifiable factors. Current ‘low risk’ drinking guidelines should be revisited to take account of brain effects.
The authors are pretty clear. You are, of course, free to draw your own conclusions.
Re: No safe level of alcohol for brain health: observational cohort study [pdf]
#37Alcohol has been found to be a powerful suppressor of REM sleep. REM sleep is important for brain health. I wonder if controlling for the sleep disruptive factor would see the negative grey matter relationship dissappear. Ie is 3 shots after you wake up less harmful than 3 shots in the evening?
I'm pretty bad about alcohol, I still abuse it very often (I'm getting better at cutting back though).
Back when I went on week long benders, nothing was worse than the lack of REM sleep. Worse than blackouts, injuries from bumping into stuff, doing regretful things, etc. Waking up tired and needing to go to work is the worst feeling.
Re: No safe level of alcohol for brain health: observational cohort study [pdf]
#38I need some more context in order to understand the actual risks being suggested here. I fall into the "low to moderate" drinking category described in the study. First, when we say 0.8% of gray matter, over what time period does that loss occur? The authors don't seem to know. Second, what sort of effects does losing, say, 1% of gray matter integrity have? Increased risk of stroke, seizure, etc.? Effects on intellec…
The study doesn't infer causality. It could just be that people who drink happen to belong to the same class of people who lose 0.8% of grey matter.
That's sort of what I inferred. Given that, I feel uncomfortable with their recommendation that we should start telling people there is no safe level of drinking. It is true in a literal sense, but I don't think there's sufficient evidence to suggest that people who genuinely drink very moderately need to change their habits radically in order to live healthier or happier lives.
Re: No safe level of alcohol for brain health: observational cohort study [pdf]
#39Median alcohol intake was 13.5 units ( 102g) weekly That was among people who drank at all; for reference, that's just under two standard drinks per day, which is apparently what the UK considers the threshold of "low risk".
Two drinks a day, every day of the week is a lot of alcohol.
Re: No safe level of alcohol for brain health: observational cohort study [pdf]
#40Haven’t had a drop in fourteen years after being a weekend binge drinker. I don’t begrudge the substance, but it has been transformative being this far removed from it. The downside? Dear god have I missed the taste of beer. La Croix and other products don’t fill the gap. There has thankfully been an explosion in the NA craft beer scene in the last few years, and some of them are good enough that I’ve had friends who…
> he cop became immensely excited when she thought she'd get me for a DUI That alone is pretty messed up. A cop should be annoyed and disappointed to be in that situation. Arresting and booking someone should be a big hassle that they shouldn't want. And let's say you had been drinking alcohol; who knows how long you might have been drinking before you got pulled over... who knows who you might have killed. And a cop…
Modern policing attracts exactly these sorts of individuals, which is why the current incarnation of the police should be abolished and a new system created from scratch. The combination of their attitudes and their immunity from all consequences necessarily leads to minor abuses like the parent comment describes and major abuses like the extrajudicial murder of innocent citizens.