Associations between alcohol consumption and gray and white matter volumes in the UK Biobank

Remi Daviet*, Gökhan Aydogan, Kanchana Jagannathan, Nathaniel Spilka, Philipp D. Koellinger, Henry R. Kranzler, Gideon Nave, Reagan R. Wetherill

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to JournalArticleAcademicpeer-review

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.

Original languageEnglish
Article number1175
Pages (from-to)1-11
Number of pages11
JournalNature Communications
Volume13
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 4 Mar 2022

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
This research was carried out under the auspices of the Brain Imaging and Genetics in Behavioral Research Consortium (https://big-bear-research.org/), using UK Biobank resources under application 40830. The study was supported by funding from an ERC Consolidator Grant to PK (647648 EdGe), NSF Early Career Development Program grant (1942917) to GN, the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism to RRW (K23 AA023894), and the VISN 4 Mental Illness Research, Education and Clinical Center at the Crescenz VA Medical Center. GN thanks Carlos and Rosa de la Cruz for their ongoing support.

Funding Information:
This research was carried out under the auspices of the Brain Imaging and Genetics in Behavioral Research Consortium ( https://big-bear-research.org/ ), using UK Biobank resources under application 40830. The study was supported by funding from an ERC Consolidator Grant to PK (647648 EdGe), NSF Early Career Development Program grant (1942917) to GN, the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism to RRW (K23 AA023894), and the VISN 4 Mental Illness Research, Education and Clinical Center at the Crescenz VA Medical Center. GN thanks Carlos and Rosa de la Cruz for their ongoing support.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2022, The Author(s).

Funding

This research was carried out under the auspices of the Brain Imaging and Genetics in Behavioral Research Consortium (https://big-bear-research.org/), using UK Biobank resources under application 40830. The study was supported by funding from an ERC Consolidator Grant to PK (647648 EdGe), NSF Early Career Development Program grant (1942917) to GN, the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism to RRW (K23 AA023894), and the VISN 4 Mental Illness Research, Education and Clinical Center at the Crescenz VA Medical Center. GN thanks Carlos and Rosa de la Cruz for their ongoing support. This research was carried out under the auspices of the Brain Imaging and Genetics in Behavioral Research Consortium ( https://big-bear-research.org/ ), using UK Biobank resources under application 40830. The study was supported by funding from an ERC Consolidator Grant to PK (647648 EdGe), NSF Early Career Development Program grant (1942917) to GN, the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism to RRW (K23 AA023894), and the VISN 4 Mental Illness Research, Education and Clinical Center at the Crescenz VA Medical Center. GN thanks Carlos and Rosa de la Cruz for their ongoing support.

FundersFunder number
Carlos and Rosa de la Cruz
Crescenz VA Medical Center
National Science Foundation1942917
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and AlcoholismK23AA023894
Engineering Research Centers
European Research Council647648 EdGe

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