Impact of alcohol on aging

Short description: General health article

The impact of alcohol on aging is multifaceted. Evidence shows that alcoholism or chronic alcohol consumption can cause both accelerated (or premature) aging - in which symptoms of aging appear earlier than normal - and exaggerated aging, in which the symptoms appear at the appropriate time but in a more exaggerated form.[1] The effects of alcohol use disorder on the aging process include hypertension, cardiac dysrhythmia, cancers, gastrointestinal disorders, neurocognitive deficits, bone loss, and emotional disturbances especially depression.[2] On the other hand, research also shows that drinking moderate amounts of alcohol may protect healthy adults from developing coronary heart disease.[3] The American Heart Association cautions people not to start drinking, if you are not already drinking. [4]

## Contents

* 1 Brain
* 2 Heart
* 3 Life expectancy
* 4 Demographics
* 5 See also
* 6 References

## Brain

Alcohol is a potent neurotoxin.[5] The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism has found, "Alcoholism may accelerate normal aging or cause premature aging of the brain."[6] Another report by the same agency found, "Chronic alcohol consumption, as well as chronic glucocorticoid exposure, can result in premature and/or exaggerated aging." Specifically, alcohol activates the HPA axis, causing glucocorticoid secretion and thus elevating levels of stress hormones in the body. Chronic exposure to these hormones results in an acceleration of the aging process, which is associated with "gradual, but often dramatic, changes over time in almost every physiological system in the human body. Combined, these changes result in decreased efficiency and resiliency of physiological function." Chronic stress and chronic heavy alcohol use cause a similar premature aging effect, including nerve cell degeneration in the hippocampus.[1]

## Heart

According to the National Institutes of Health, researchers now understand that drinking moderate amounts of alcohol can protect the hearts of some people from the risks of coronary artery disease.[7] But, it's not possible to predict in which people alcoholism will become a problem. Given these and other risks, the American Heart Association cautions people not to start drinking. [8]

## Life expectancy

A study published in August 2010 in the journal, “Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research,” followed 1,824 participants between the ages of 55 and 65 and found that even after adjusting for all suspected covariates, abstainers and heavy drinkers continued to show increased mortality risks of 51 and 45%, respectively, compared to moderate drinkers.[9] A follow-up study lists several cautions in interpreting the findings. For example, the results do not address nor endorse initiation of drinking among nondrinkers, and persons who have medical conditions which would be worsened by alcohol consumption should not drink alcohol.[10] Additional research suggests that the reasons for alcohol abstinence may be a determining factor in the outcomes for abstainers: those who do not drink because of existing medical conditions or because of previous substance use disorder issues have the highest rates of early death among the abstainers. Other groups of abstainers, such as those who do not drink because of family upbringing or moral/religious reasons, have mortality risks that are as low as those who drink in moderation. [11]

## Demographics

Excessive alcohol consumption, especially of distilled alcohol, is responsible for higher mortality rates and lower life expectancy for men in Eastern Europe, especially the former Soviet Union.[12][13]

## See also

* Alcohol dementia

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Alcohol, Aging, and the Stress Response, RL Spencer and KE Hutchison, Alcohol Research & Health, Vol. 23, No. 4, 1999 ...alcohol-related overactivity of the HPA axis and the resulting elevated cortisol levels may contribute to premature or exaggerated aging in many people with a long history of alcohol abuse.
2. ↑ Stevenson JS (2005). "Alcohol use, misuse, abuse, and dependence in later adulthood". Annu Rev Nurs Res 23: 245–80. doi:10.1891/0739-6686.23.1.245. PMID 16350768.
3. ↑ National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, "Understanding the impact of alcohol on human health and well-being."
4. ↑ "Is drinking alcohol part of a healthy lifestyle?". http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/HealthyLiving/HealthyEating/Nutrition/Alcohol-and-Heart-Health_UCM_305173_Article.jsp#.WIh86_l97IU.
5. ↑ Thomas P. Beresford; Edith Lisansky Gomberg; Edith S. Gomberg. Alcohol and Aging. pp. 85.
6. ↑ Alcohol and Aging - Alcohol Alert No. 40-1998
7. ↑ "Beyond Hangovers: understanding alcohol’s impact on your health," NIH Publication No. 10–7604, revised May 2011
8. ↑ "Is drinking alcohol part of a healthy lifestyle?". http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/HealthyLiving/HealthyEating/Nutrition/Alcohol-and-Heart-Health_UCM_305173_Article.jsp#.WIh86_l97IU.
9. ↑ Holahan CJ, Schutte KK, Brennan PL, Holahan CK, Moos BS, Moos RH (November 2010). "Late-life alcohol consumption and 20-year mortality". Alcohol. Clin. Exp. Res. 34 (11): 1961–71. doi:10.1111/j.1530-0277.2010.01286.x. PMID 20735372.
10. ↑ Holahan, Charles; Kathleen K. Schutte; Penny L. Brennan; Rebecca J. North; Carole K. Holahan; Bernice S. Moos; Rudolf H. Moos (January 2012). "Wine Consumption and 20-Year Mortality Among Late-Life Moderate Drinkers". J Stud Alcohol Drugs 73 (1): 80–88. doi:10.15288/jsad.2012.73.80. PMID 22152665.
11. ↑ Rogers, R.G., Krueger, P.M., Miech, R. et al. Popul Res Policy Rev (2013) 32: 325. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11113-013-9268-7
12. ↑ Korotayev, Andrey; Khaltourina, Daria; Meshcherina, Kira; Zamiatnina, Elena (2018). "Distilled Spirits Overconsumption as the Most Important Factor of Excessive Adult Male Mortality in Europe". Alcohol and Alcoholism 53 (6): 742–752. doi:10.1093/alcalc/agy054. PMID 30113627.
13. ↑ Yakovlev, Evgeny (1 July 2015). "Alcoholism and mortality in Eastern Europe". IZA World of Labor. doi:10.15185/izawol.168. https://wol.iza.org/articles/alcoholism-and-mortality-in-eastern-europe/long. Retrieved 29 August 2020.

* v
* t
* e

Alcohol and health

Alcohol use|

| Alcohol-related crimes|

* Drunk drivers
* Alcohol-related traffic crashes in the United States)
* Driving under the influence (DUI)
* Drunk driving in the United States
* Public intoxication
* Rum-running
* Adulterated moonshine/Denatured alcohol
* List of methanol poisoning incidents

|

Alcoholism|

Note: see Template:Psychoactive substance use for diagnoses, and Category:Psychiatric instruments: alcohol abuse for treatment evaluation instruments.

* Alcohol and Native Americans
* Alcoholism in adolescence
* Alcoholism in family systems
* Collaborative Study on the Genetics of Alcoholism
* College student alcoholism
* Disease theory of alcoholism
* High-functioning alcoholic (HFA)
* Seeing pink elephants

Chemistry|

* Beer chemistry
* Congener (Alcohol congener analysis)
* Ethanol (Blood alcohol content, Breathalyzer)
* Fusel alcohol
* Wine chemistry

Effects|

* Effects of alcohol consumption
* short-term
* long-term
* On memory
* Subjective response to alcohol

Interactions|

* Aging
* Brain
* Cancer
* breast cancer
* Cortisol
* Pregnancy
* Sleep
* Tolerance/intolerance
* Weight
* Beverage-specific
* Beer: Potomania
* Red wine: Red wine headache

Social issues|

* Alcohol advertising
* on college campuses
* Sex
* Alcohol myopia
* Alcohol abuse among college students
* Binge drinking
* Epidemiology
* Blackout (alcohol-related amnesia)
* Blackout Wednesday
* Drinking games (list) / pregaming
* Drinking in public
* Drunk dialing
* Drunk walking
* Drunkorexia
* Dry drunk
* French paradox
* Hair of the dog
* Nightcap
* Passive drinking
* Binge drinking devices
* Beer bong
* Yard of ale
* Routes of administration
* Alcohol enema
* Alcohol inhalation
* Sconcing
* Surrogate alcohol
* Related issues
* Balconing
* Suicide

History|

* Dionysian Mysteries
* Dipsomania
* Gin Craze
* List of deaths through alcohol
* Rum ration
* Speakeasy

General|

* Beer day
* Drinking culture
* Apéritif and digestif
* Hangover remedies
* Health effects of wine
* Wine and food matching
* Long-distance race involving alcohol
* List of countries by alcohol consumption per capita
* Alcohol consumption by youth in the United States
* Nip joint

Alcohol control|

| Alcohol law|

* Administrative license suspension (ALS)
* Alcohol packaging warning messages
* Drunk driving law by country
* DWI court
* Field sobriety testing
* Hip flask defence
* Ignition interlock device
* Legal drinking age
* Legal drinking age controversy in the United States
* Underage drinking in America
* List of alcohol laws of the United States

|

Alcohol prohibition|

* List of countries with alcohol prohibition
* Neo-prohibitionism
* Temperance movement

Sobriety|

* Alcohol detoxification
* Alcohol-free zone
* United States open-container laws
* Designated driver
* Alcohol rehabilitation
* Drunk tank
* Managed alcohol program
* Non-alcoholic drink
* List of non-alcoholic cocktails
* List of non-alcoholic mixed drinks
* Non-alcoholic spritzer
* Non-alcoholic malt drinks
* Teetotalism
* Temperance bar
* Twelve-step groups
* Al-Anon/Alateen
* Alcoholics Anonymous (AA):
* Adult Children of Alcoholics (ACA)

Alcohol limitation|

* 0-0-1-3
* Alcohol education
* Alcohol server training
* FRAMES
* Dry January
* Foundation for Advancing Alcohol Responsibility
* Campaigns
* Get Your Sexy Back
* Low-alcohol drinks
* Fermented tea
* Low-alcohol beer
* Low-alcoholic malt drinks
* Small beer
* Measurement
* Alcoholic spirits measure
* Standard drink
* Recommended maximum intake of alcoholic beverages

Addiction medicine|

* Disulfiram-like drugs: disulfiram, calcium carbimide, cyanamide. [[Chemistry:Sulfonic Sulfonic acid]]s: Acamprosate

Religion and alcohol|

* Christian views on alcohol
* alcohol in the Bible
* Islam and alcohol

History|

* Bratt System

Related|

* Index of alcohol-related articles
* Austrian syndrome
* Ban on caffeinated alcoholic beverages
* Brief intervention
* Gateway drug effect
* Mood disorder
* Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease
* Self-medication
* Spins
* Sober companion
* Sober living houses
* Sobering center
* Town drunk

* Category

* v
* t
* e

Psychoactive substance-related disorder (F10–F19, 291–292; 303–305)

General|

* SID
* Substance intoxication / Drug overdose
* Substance-induced psychosis
* Withdrawal:
* Craving
* Neonatal withdrawal
* Post-acute-withdrawal syndrome (PAWS)
* SUD
* Substance abuse / Substance-related disorders
* Physical dependence / Psychological dependence / Substance dependence

Combined
substance use|

* SUD
* Polysubstance dependence
* SID
* Combined drug intoxication (CDI)

Alcohol|

| SID|

| Cardiovascular diseases|

* Alcoholic cardiomyopathy
* Alcohol flush reaction

|

Gastrointestinal diseases|

* Alcoholic liver disease (ALD):
* Alcoholic hepatitis
* Auto-brewery syndrome

Endocrine diseases|

* Alcoholic ketoacidosis (AKA)

Nervous
system diseases|

* Alcohol-related dementia (ARD)
* Alcohol intoxication
* Hangover

Neurological
disorders|

* Alcoholic hallucinosis
* Alcoholic polyneuropathy
* Alcohol-related brain damage
* Alcohol withdrawal syndrome:
* Alcoholic hallucinosis
* Delirium tremens (DTs)
* Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD)
* Fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS)
* Korsakoff syndrome
* Korsakoff psychosis
* Positional alcohol nystagmus (PAN)
* Wernicke–Korsakoff syndrome (WKS)
* Wernicke encephalopathy (WE)

Respiratory tract diseases|

* Alcohol-induced respiratory reactions
* Alcoholic lung disease

SUD|

* Alcoholism (alcohol use disorder (AUD))
* Binge drinking

Caffeine|

* SID
* Caffeine-induced anxiety disorder
* Caffeine-induced sleep disorder
* Caffeinism
* SUD
* Caffeine dependence

Cannabis|

* SID
* Cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome (CHS)
* SUD
* Amotivational syndrome
* Cannabis use disorder (CUD)
* Synthetic cannabinoid use disorder

Cocaine|

* SID
* Cocaine intoxication
* Prenatal cocaine exposure (PCE)
* SUD
* Cocaine dependence

Hallucinogen|

* SID
* Acute intoxication from hallucinogens (bad trip)
* Hallucinogen persisting perception disorder (HPPD)

Nicotine|

* SID
* Nicotine poisoning
* Nicotine withdrawal
* SUD
* Nicotine dependence

Opioids|

* SID
* Opioid overdose
* SUD
* Opioid use disorder (OUD)

Sedative /
hypnotic|

* SID
* Kindling (sedative–hypnotic withdrawal)
* benzodiazepine: SID
* Benzodiazepine overdose
* Benzodiazepine withdrawal
* SUD
* Benzodiazepine use disorder (BUD)
* Benzodiazepine dependence
* barbiturate: SID
* Barbiturate overdose
* SUD
* Barbiturate dependence

Stimulants|

* SID
* Stimulant psychosis
* amphetamine: SUD
* Amphetamine dependence

Volatile
solvent|

* SID
* Sudden sniffing death syndrome (SSDS)
* Toluene toxicity
* SUD
* Inhalant abuse

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