International Journal of Dual Diagnosis

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The Association of Alcoholism, Alcohol Use and Dementia

Received: 04 October 2016    Accepted: 29 November 2016    Published: 21 December 2016
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Abstract

The discussion concerning alcoholism and dementia has a long and complicated history. In this paper, I review this topic, showing that alcohol can rarely cause Korsakoff’s dementia through a thiamine deficiency. In this syndrome, the ability to encode new memory is affected. However, the question of whether alcohol leads to more common forms of dementia is more complicated. Light to moderate drinking seems to be protective against the development of Alzheimer’s disease or vascular dementia. Heavy drinking will increase the risk of dementia from Alzheimer’s disease or vascular dementia (from stroke). Traumatic brain injury often accompanies the behaviors associated with heavy drinking, and brain injury is a risk factor for developing dementia later in life.

DOI 10.11648/j.ijdd.20160103.12
Published in International Journal of Dual Diagnosis (Volume 1, Issue 3, September 2016)
Page(s) 29-33
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Alcohol Consumption, Brain Aging, Cognitive Aging, Dementia

References
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Author Information
  • Department of Psychiatry at the Perelman School of Medicine of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, USA

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    Kettl Paul A. (2016). The Association of Alcoholism, Alcohol Use and Dementia. International Journal of Dual Diagnosis, 1(3), 29-33. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijdd.20160103.12

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    Kettl Paul A. The Association of Alcoholism, Alcohol Use and Dementia. Int. J. Dual Diagn. 2016, 1(3), 29-33. doi: 10.11648/j.ijdd.20160103.12

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    AMA Style

    Kettl Paul A. The Association of Alcoholism, Alcohol Use and Dementia. Int J Dual Diagn. 2016;1(3):29-33. doi: 10.11648/j.ijdd.20160103.12

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ijdd.20160103.12,
      author = {Kettl Paul A.},
      title = {The Association of Alcoholism, Alcohol Use and Dementia},
      journal = {International Journal of Dual Diagnosis},
      volume = {1},
      number = {3},
      pages = {29-33},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ijdd.20160103.12},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijdd.20160103.12},
      eprint = {https://download.sciencepg.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijdd.20160103.12},
      abstract = {The discussion concerning alcoholism and dementia has a long and complicated history. In this paper, I review this topic, showing that alcohol can rarely cause Korsakoff’s dementia through a thiamine deficiency. In this syndrome, the ability to encode new memory is affected. However, the question of whether alcohol leads to more common forms of dementia is more complicated. Light to moderate drinking seems to be protective against the development of Alzheimer’s disease or vascular dementia. Heavy drinking will increase the risk of dementia from Alzheimer’s disease or vascular dementia (from stroke). Traumatic brain injury often accompanies the behaviors associated with heavy drinking, and brain injury is a risk factor for developing dementia later in life.},
     year = {2016}
    }
    

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    AB  - The discussion concerning alcoholism and dementia has a long and complicated history. In this paper, I review this topic, showing that alcohol can rarely cause Korsakoff’s dementia through a thiamine deficiency. In this syndrome, the ability to encode new memory is affected. However, the question of whether alcohol leads to more common forms of dementia is more complicated. Light to moderate drinking seems to be protective against the development of Alzheimer’s disease or vascular dementia. Heavy drinking will increase the risk of dementia from Alzheimer’s disease or vascular dementia (from stroke). Traumatic brain injury often accompanies the behaviors associated with heavy drinking, and brain injury is a risk factor for developing dementia later in life.
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