Binge drinking could result in plummeting moods and impair cognitive performance, a new UK study of young alcohol drinkers suggests. And the research indicates that women are more affected than men.
Getting drunk by downing large amounts of booze quickly, followed by days of abstinence can be considered as undergoing repeated alcohol withdrawal, say Theodora Duka at the University of Sussex, and Julia Townshend, now at Thames Valley University, both in the UK.
This kind of withdrawal is known to affect cognitive ability and emotional responses in alcoholic patients, so the pair set out examine the effects of binge-drinking on these responses.
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鈥淭here is evidence that repeated, abrupt increases of alcohol levels in the brain, followed by abstinence, induces more damage in the brain than the same amount of alcohol taken uninterrupted in the same length of time,鈥� says Duka.
The study found that young people whose questionnaires revealed them to be binge-drinkers were generally less upbeat than regular drinkers and did less well on short-term memory tests.
Worrying results
鈥淚t also seemed to be the women binge drinkers that were worse affected,鈥� says Townshend. 鈥淭he binge drinking population used to be mostly men and boys 鈥� but now they are very much being caught up by women. If it鈥檚 the case that their cognitive function is more impaired then this is something to worry about.鈥�
鈥淲hat is particularly novel about this report is the finding that females are impaired more than males,鈥� agrees Fulton Crews, an alcohol researcher at the University of North Carolina, US.
Duka and Townshend surveyed 100 students aged 18 to 30 who said they were healthy and moderate-to-heavy social drinkers. They used the pattern of drinking to define binge drinking rather than simply counting the number of drinks in a row, or weekly alcohol consumption.
鈥淵ou could be at a dinner party and have four drinks in a row but I wouldn鈥檛 say that was binge drinking,鈥� explains Townshend. 鈥淏ut if you go out on a Friday night and drink to get drunk, it is more likely to be binge drinking.鈥�
Frontal lobes
Standard tests revealed that those who indulged in more heavy drinking sessions had on average a less positive mood 鈥� they were more anxious and depressed. Townshend points out the tests were done at the same time of day for all volunteers and none of the binge drinkers had hangovers while completing them. 鈥淭here wasn鈥檛 a relationship with when they had last been drinking and the degree of positive mood,鈥� she told New 杏吧原创.
Binge drinkers also did worse in cognitive tests involving short term working memory and other cognitive tasks, suggesting that the frontal lobes of the brain are affected.
But Townshend warns: 鈥淵ou really can鈥檛 say in a study like this what is cause and what is effect. It could be that these people are generally more anxious and depressed and that鈥檚 why they drink too much. Or that the alcohol has effects on their brain and has caused some kind of damage or change.鈥�
To tease out this distinction a long-term study of individuals, starting before they take up drinking, is needed. Also, most people stop binge-drinking as they get older, she says. 鈥淥ne would hope any effects of binge drinking would right themselves, but that remains to be seen.鈥�
Journal reference: Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research (vol 29, p 317)
