Binge drinking and progression of white matter hyperintensities of presumed vascular origin in older men

Information on trajectories of diffuse subcortical brain damage of vascular origin associated with binge drinking in older adults is limited. Researchers sought to evaluate the impact of this drinking pattern on the progression of white matter hyperintensities (WMH) of presumed vascular origin in individuals aged ≥60 years taken from the community.
Following a longitudinal prospective design, participants of the Atahualpa Project Cohort received interviews to assess patterns of alcohol intake as well as baseline and follow-up brain MRIs. Only men were included because alcohol consumption in women was negligible and binge drinking was uncommon in the studied population. The incidence rate ratio of WMH progression by patterns of alcohol use (binge drinking or not), was assessed after adjusting for demographics, level of education, and cardiovascular risk factors.
The study included 114 men aged ≥60 years (mean age: 65.1±5.4 years). Thirty-seven participants (32%) reported binge drinking for more than 30 years. Follow-up MRIs revealed WMH progression in 45 participants (39%) after a median of 7.2 years. In unadjusted analysis, the risk of WMH progression among individuals with binge drinking was 2.08 (95% CI 1.16-3.73). After adjustment for age, education level and vascular risk factors, participants with this drinking pattern were 2.75 times (95% CI 1.42-5.30) more likely to have WMH progression than those who did not.
Study results show an independent association between binge drinking and WMH progression in community-dwelling older men.
Source: Del Brutto OH, Rumbea DA, Mera RM. Binge drinking and progression of white matter hyperintensities of presumed vascular origin in older men. J Stroke Cerebrovasc Dis. 2024 Jul 31;33(9):107886.