Data from Generation Scotland volunteers has allowed researchers to create a less biased way to measure alcohol consumption than self-reporting, and these measurements were then found to associate with brain health. Research Summary Drinking alcohol impacts brain health and increases disease risk. You might forget how much you drink, but your body remembers. Chemical changes to our DNA can reflect our drinking patterns and offer a less biased way to assess alcohol intake than self-report. This could improve future disease prediction and prevention.The researchers in this study looked at small molecules called methyl groups, which attach to our DNA based on lifestyle factors, including how much we drink.This analysis allowed researchers to create scores which more accurately predict alcohol intake, and these scores were then found to associate with brain health. More research is needed to know how these findings can be applied to understanding and treating disease. Read the Clinical Epigenetics Article (Bernabeu et al. 2025) Research Visual This article was published on 2025-02-05
