Mahedy, L., Suddell, S., Skirrow, C. et al. (6 more authors) (2021) Alcohol use and cognitive functioning in young adults : improving causal inference. Addiction, 116 (2). pp. 292-302. ISSN 0965-2140
Abstract
Background and Aims: There have been few longitudinal studies of association between alcohol use and cognitive functioning in young people. We aimed to examine whether alcohol use is a causal risk factor for deficient cognitive functioning in young adults.
Design: Linear regression was used to examine the relationship between longitudinal latent class patterns of binge drinking and subsequent cognitive functioning. Two-sample Mendelian randomisation (MR) tested evidence for the causal relationship between alcohol use and cognitive functioning.
Setting: South West England.
Participants: The observational study included 3,155 adolescents and their parents (fully adjusted models) from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC). Genetic instruments for alcohol use were based on almost 1,000,000 individuals from the GWAS & Sequencing Consortium of Alcohol and Nicotine use (GSCAN). Genome-wide association studies for cognitive outcomes were based on 2,500 individuals from ALSPAC.
Measurements: Binge drinking was assessed at approximately 16, 17, 18, 21, and 23 years. Cognitive functioning comprised working memory, response inhibition, and emotion recognition assessed at 24 years of age. Ninety-nine independent genome-wide significant SNPs associated with ‘number of drinks per week’ were used as the genetic instrument for alcohol consumption. Potential confounders were included in the observational analyses.
Findings: Four binge drinking classes were identified: ‘low-risk’ (41%), ‘early-onset monthly’ (19%), ‘adult frequent’ (23%), and ‘early-onset frequent’ (17%). The association between early-onset frequent binge drinking and cognitive functioning: working memory (b=0.09, 95%CI=-0.10 to 0.28), response inhibition (b=0.70, 95%CI=-10.55 to 11.95), and emotion recognition (b=0.01, 95%CI=-0.01 to 0.02) in comparison to low-risk drinkers were inconclusive as to whether a difference was present. Two-sample MR analyses similarly provided little evidence that alcohol use is associated with deficits in working memory using the inverse variance weight (b=0.29, 95%CI=-0.42 to 0.99), response inhibition (b=-0.32, 95%CI=-1.04 to 0.39), and emotion recognition (b=0.03, 95%CI=-0.55 to 0.61).
Conclusions: Binge drinking in adolescence and early adulthood may not be causally related to deficiencies in working memory, response inhibition, or emotion recognition in youths.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2020 Society for the Study of Addiction. This is an author-produced version of a paper subsequently published in Addiction. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Science (Sheffield) > Department of Psychology (Sheffield) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 23 Apr 2020 07:58 |
Last Modified: | 17 Sep 2021 08:09 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Wiley |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1111/add.15100 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:159794 |