The clinical implications of alcohol consumption have been extensively examined; however, its effects on brain structures in apparently healthy community-dwellers remain unclear. Therefore, we investigated the relationship between alcohol consumption and brain grey matter volume (GMV) in community-dwelling Japanese men using voxel-based morphometry (VBM). We recruited cognitively intact Japanese men, aged 40−79 years, from a population-based cohort in Shiga, Japan. Brain magnetic resonance imaging was performed, on average, 2 years after demographic and medical information was obtained in 2010−2014. A multivariable linear regression analysis of 639 men was conducted to elucidate the relationship between the amount of alcohol consumed and GMV. VBM statistics were analyzed by threshold-free cluster enhancement with a family-wise error rate of <0.05. The results obtained demonstrated that the amount of alcohol consumed was associated with lower GMV. The VBM analysis showed lower GMV within the parahippocampal, entorhinal, cingulate, insular, temporal, and frontal cortices and cerebellum in very heavy drinkers (≥42 ethanol g/day) than in non-drinkers. Furthermore, alcohol consumption was associated with a higher white matter lesion volume. These results suggest subclinical structural changes similar to alcohol-related neurological diseases.

饮酒的临床意义已得到广泛研究。然而，它对明显健康的社区居民大脑结构的影响仍不清楚。因此，我们使用基于体素的形态测量学 (VBM) 研究了社区居住的日本男性饮酒与脑灰质体积 (GMV) 之间的关系。我们从日本滋贺的一个基于人群的队列中招募了年龄在 40-79 岁之间、认知完整的日本男性。在 2010-2014 年获得人口统计学和医学信息后平均 2 年进行脑磁共振成像。对 639 名男性进行了多变量线性回归分析，以阐明饮酒量与 GMV 之间的关系。VBM 统计数据通过无阈值聚类增强进行分析，家庭错误率 <0。05. 获得的结果表明，饮酒量与较低的 GMV 相关。VBM 分析显示，与不饮酒者相比，大量饮酒者（≥42 乙醇克/天）的海马旁、内嗅、扣带回、岛叶、颞叶和额叶皮质以及小脑的 GMV 较低​​。此外，饮酒与较高的白质病变体积有关。这些结果表明与酒精相关的神经系统疾病类似的亚临床结构变化。饮酒与较高的白质病变体积有关。这些结果表明与酒精相关的神经系统疾病类似的亚临床结构变化。饮酒与较高的白质病变体积有关。这些结果表明与酒精相关的神经系统疾病类似的亚临床结构变化。