Although alcohol consumption risks have been long known, with this observational study, which has not yet been peer-reviewed, researchers noted that the more people drank, the less the volume of their gray matter, in other words, in those regions in the brain that make up important bits where information is processed, according to lead author Anya Topiwala, a senior clinical researcher at Oxford.

‘So many people drink moderately and think this is either harmless or even protective,’ Topiwala said.

Previous research has found that brain damage can crop up in subtle ways, which are not immediately detectable in routine tests and can progress uncontrollably.

On the other hand, Sadie Boniface, head of research at the UK´s Institute of Alcohol Studies, added that while we cannot yet say for sure whether there is no safe level of alcohol regarding brain health at the moment, it has been known for decades that heavy drinking is bad for grain health.

We also shouldn´t forget alcohol affects all parts of the body and there are multiple health risks, said Boniface, who was not associated with the University of Oxford study.

A study published in the scientific journal The Lancet in 2018 pointed out that alcohol was the key risk factor for disease and early death in men and women aging 15 to 49 worldwide in 2016.

mh/pll/mem / rbp