What are the 3 stages of life when alcohol is most harmful?
Riskiest times are when brains are undergoing dynamic changes, Aussie authors say
Australian researchers have narrowed down the three stages in life when the effects of even moderate alcohol consumption are most harmful.
People are most at risk of the negative effects of drinking before they are born, between the ages of 15 and 19, and when over 65 years old, says an editorial in The BMJ by academics from the University of NSW, University of Sydney and Kings College in London.
Lead author Dr Louise Mewton, a University of NSW Fellow at the Centre for Healthy Brain Ageing, says those three periods are times when the brain in undergoing dynamic changes, and is particularly sensitive to harm.
“There is an undeniable cumulative effect of alcohol use on cognitive health across the life span,” Dr Mewton says.
