The UK might have an insidious epidemic on its hands, one that is nursed by beer, wine and spirits. Alcohol-related dementia may be an under-recognized health problem that will only worsen as alcohol gets cheaper and attitudes about drinking relax, warn London-based psychiatrists Susham Gupta and James Warner in an article published this month.

The average British person is currently drinking twice as much as he did in the 1960s. If the trend continues, the UK is on track to becoming one of the top alcohol guzzling nations in all of Europe, Gupta and Warner predict. And that’s saying a lot—the European Union is “the heaviest drinking region of the world,” according to a recent European Commission report.

Research suggests that excessive alcohol consumption correlates with tissue loss in the superior frontal cortex, the part of the brain involved in decision making. There is also evidence that alcoholism might lead to changes in expression of genes involved in neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s, suggesting that alcohol abuse may be connected to some forms of dementia.

But such findings are often overshadowed by media reports trumpeting results most of us would rather hear; a study suggesting that moderate alcohol consumption may actually slow the onset of dementia among some older people, for example. When it comes to alcohol and dementia, the research results tend to follow a J-shaped curve, Gupta and Warner point out. Moderate consumption (up to one daily drink per day) correlates with reduced dementia risk, while increasing levels correspond to a climbing risk.

Since excessive drinking is particularly popular among younger generations, it may take decades to understand the public health impact of today’s drinking trends. Should governments try to preempt the problem? Gupta and Warner hint that governments might consider legislation similar to that used to fight tobacco-related health problems. What do you think of this idea—sensible or extreme?

Photo by glennharper