Who may be affected?
Adults who consume alcohol. Current U.S. guidelines describe moderate drinking as one drink a day for women, and two for men. Examples of standard alcoholic drinks include a 12-ounce beer, a five-ounce glass of wine and a 1.5-ounce drink of 80-proof liquor. The study authors wrote that their findings “call into question the current U.S. guidelines.”
Caveats
Most study participants were men. Data on alcohol consumption came from the participants’ responses on questionnaires. Factors other than alcohol may have contributed to brain changes in the participants.
Find this study
Online June 6 in The BMJ (bmj.com; search for "alcohol consumption").
Learn more
Information on how alcohol can affect health is available at pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications (click on "Beyond Hangovers . . . ") and mayoclinic.org (search for "moderate alcohol use").
The research described in Quick Study comes from credible, peer-reviewed journals.