As teenagers, we all wanted to a sip of our dad’s beer and our mom’s wine simply because it was exciting to do something rebellious. After that first taste, you move on to drinking copious amounts of alcohol and you get your first hangover!
However, a recent Swedish study suggests that heavy drinking as a teenage puts teens at risk of developing dementia early. Dementia is not a specific disease, but a general term for one’s decline of mental ability like memory loss and ability to focus and pay attention.
A study of almost 500,000 Swedish men identified “alcohol intoxication” as a late adolescent as the most serious of nine separate risk factors for young onset dementia (YOD) – that is, dementia before reaching 65.
The Guardian, states:
“Other “late adolescent risk factors” identified by the researchers included stroke, use of amtopsychotic drugs, depression, father’s dementia, drugs intoxication other than alcohol, low cognitive function at conscription, low height at conscription and high systolic blood pressure at conscription. Together the nine factors accounted for 68% of the 487 YOD cases found at follow-up.”
Fortunately, Jess Smith, a research officer at the Alzheimer’s Society says that kicking excessive teenage drinking or drug habits in touch and treating conditions such as depression could be key to reducing your risk of dementia in later life. [Source]
So, if you’ve got a teenage friend or cousin and they’re feeling depressed, take them out for a movie and ice cream, and stay away from the booze!
