Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-p2v8j Total loading time: 0.001 Render date: 2024-05-13T16:09:34.927Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Cognitive functioning in older adults with early, late, and very late onset alcohol dependence

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 May 2014

Nicolien Kist ,
Janice Sandjojo ,
Rob M. Kok  and
Julia F. van den Berg
Nicolien Kist*
Affiliation:
Parnassia Psychiatric Institute, Mangostraat 1, 2552 KS The Hague, the Netherlands
Janice Sandjojo
Affiliation:
Department of Neuropsychology, Leiden University, Wassenaarseweg 52, 2333 AK Leiden, the Netherlands
Rob M. Kok
Affiliation:
Parnassia Psychiatric Institute, Mangostraat 1, 2552 KS The Hague, the Netherlands
Julia F. van den Berg
Affiliation:
Parnassia Psychiatric Institute, Mangostraat 1, 2552 KS The Hague, the Netherlands
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: Nicolien Kist, Clinical Centre for Elderly, Parnassia Psychiatric Institute, Mangostraat 1, 2552 KS The Hague, the Netherlands. Phone: +31 88-3575252; Fax: +31 88 3584166. Email: N.Kist@parnassiagroep.nl.
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Background:

Alcohol dependence in older adults is associated with cognitive impairment. Age of onset of alcohol dependence is an important criterion to distinguish subgroups of alcohol-dependent people. Little is known about the influence of the age of onset of alcohol dependence on cognitive functioning. The primary aim of this study was to examine if older alcohol-dependent people with early, late or very late onset of alcohol dependence differ in terms of cognitive dysfunction.

Methods:

A total of eighty-five older alcohol-dependent people who were admitted to an inpatient detoxification program, were categorized into three age of onset groups: early onset (< 25 years: N = 27, mean age 57.7 ± 7.4), late onset (25–44 years: N = 28, mean age 61.1 ± 6.7) and very late onset (≥ 45 years: N = 30, mean age 65.6 ± 6.5). A neuropsychological test battery (Kaufman-Short Neuropsychological Assessment Procedure (K-SNAP), Trail Making Test (TMT) and Stroop Color Word Test) was administered to assess cognitive functioning. Differences between groups were examined with analyses of variance (ANOVAs).

Results:

There were no significant differences in performance on any of the neuropsychological measures between the three age of onset groups. However, compared to a non-alcohol-dependent norm group, all three age of onset groups performed below average.

Conclusions:

The results suggest that older adults who start drinking heavily (very) late in life have similar cognitive impairments compared to their peers who have been drinking for decades. This emphasizes the vulnerability of the aging brain to the toxic effects of alcohol.

Keywords

alcohol dependenceage of onsetcognitionelderly
Type
Research Article
Information
International Psychogeriatrics , Volume 26 , Issue 11 , November 2014 , pp. 1863 - 1869
Copyright
Copyright © International Psychogeriatric Association 2014 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

American Psychiatric Association (2000). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th edn., text rev. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association.Google Scholar
Atkinson, R. (1990). Late versus early onset problem drinking in older men. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 14, 574–579.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Barrick, C. and Connors, G. J. (2002). Relapse prevention and maintaining abstinence in older adults with alcohol-use disorders. Drugs and Aging, 19, 583–594.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bates, M. E., Pawlak, A. P., Tonigan, J. S. and Buckman, J. F. (2006). Cognitive impairment influences drinking outcome by altering therapeutic mechanisms of change. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 20, 241–253.Google Scholar
Berre, A. P. et al. (2012). Cognitive barriers to readiness to change in alcohol-dependent patients. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 36, 1542–1549.Google Scholar
Demir, B., Ucac, G., Ulug, B., Ulusoy, S., Sevinc, I. and Batur, S. (2002a). Platelet monoamine oxidase activity in alcoholism subtypes: relationship to personality traits and executive functions. Alcohol & Alcoholism, 37, 597–602.Google Scholar
Demir, B., Ulug, B., Lay Ergun, E. and Erbas, B. (2002b). Regional cerebral blood flow and neuropsychological functioning in early and late onset alcoholism. Psychiatry Research Neuroimaging, 115, 115–125.Google Scholar
Dom, G., Hulstijn, W. and Sabbe, B. (2006). Differences in impulsivity and sensation seeking between early- and late-onset alcoholics. Addictive Behaviors, 31, 298–308.Google Scholar
Eckardt, M. J. et al. (1998). Effects of moderate alcohol consumption on the central nervous system. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 22, 998–1040.Google Scholar
Green, A., Garrick, T., Sheedy, D., Blake, H., Shores, E. A. and Harper, C. (2010). The effect of moderate to heavy alcohol consumption on neuropsychological performance as measured by the repeatable battery for the assessment of neuropsychological status. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 34, 443–450.Google Scholar
Immonen, S., Valvanne, J. and Pitkälä, K. H. (2011). Prevalence of at-risk drinking among older adults and associated sociodemographic and health-related factors. Journal of Nutrition, Health and Aging, 15, 789–794.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Joos, L. et al. (2013). Age of onset and neuropsychological functioning in alcohol dependent inpatients. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 37, 407–416.Google Scholar
Kaufman, A. S. and Kaufman, N. L. (1994). K-SNAP: Kaufman Short Neuropsychological Assessment Procedure. Circle Pines, MN: American Guidance Service.Google Scholar
Kokkevi, A. and Hartgers, C. (1995). EuropASI: European adaptation of a multidimensional assessment instrument for drug and alcohol dependence. European Addiction Research, 1, 208–210.Google Scholar
Leggio, L., Kenna, G. A., Fenton, M., Bonenfant, E. and Swift, R. M. (2009). Typologies of alcohol dependence. From Jellinek to genetics and beyond. Neuropsychology Review, 19, 115–129.Google Scholar
Le Strat, Y., Grant, B. F., Ramoz, N. and Gorwood, P. (2010). A new definition of early age at onset in alcohol dependence. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 108, 43–48.Google Scholar
Liberto, J. G. and Oslin, D. W. (1995). Early versus late onset of alcoholism in the elderly. International Journal of Addiction, 30, 1799–1818.Google Scholar
Liu, S., Serdula, M. K., Byers, T., Williamson, D. F., Mokdad, A. H. and Dana Flanders, W. (1996). Reliability of alcohol intake as recalled from 10 years in the past. American Journal of Epidemiology, 143, 177–186.Google Scholar
Moos, R. H., Schutte, K. K., Brennan, P. L. and Moos, B. S. (2010). Late-life and life history predictors of older adults’ high-risk alcohol consumption and drinking problems. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 108, 13–20.Google Scholar
Mulder, J. L., Dekker, R. and Dekker, P. H. (2005). Kaufman Neuropsychological Screening. Leiden: Psychologische Instrumenten Tests en Services B.V.Google Scholar
Oslin, D. W. (2004). Late-life alcoholism: issues relevant to the geriatric psychiatrist. American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 12, 571–583.Google Scholar
Parsons, O. A. (1998). Neurocognitive deficits in alcoholics and social drinkers: a continuum? Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 22, 954–961.Google Scholar
Pfefferbaum, A., Sullivan, E. V., Mathalon, D. H. and Lim, K. O. (1997). Frontal lobe volume loss observed with magnetic resonance imaging in older chronic alcoholics. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 21, 521–529.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Pishkin, V., Lovallo, W. R. and Bourne, L. E. (1985). Chronic alcoholism in males: cognitive deficit as a function of age of onset, age, and duration. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 9, 400–406.Google Scholar
Pitel, A. L. et al. (2007). Effect of episodic and working memory impairments on semantic and cognitive procedural learning at alcohol treatment entry. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 31, 238–248.Google Scholar
Schmand, B., Lindeboom, J. and Van Harskamp, F. (1992). Dutch Adult Reading Test. Lisse: Swets & Zeitlinger.Google Scholar
Schmand, B., Houx, P. and De Koning, I. (2003). Norms for Stroop Color Word Test, Trail Making Test, and Story Recall of Rivermead Behavioural Memory Test. Amsterdam: De sectie Neuropsychologie van het Nederlands Instituut van Psychologen.Google Scholar
Sorocco, K. H. and Ferrell, S. W. (2006). Alcohol use among older adults. Journal of General Psychology, 133, 453–467.Google Scholar
Stroop, J. R. (1935). Studies of interference in serial verbal reactions. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 18, 643–662.Google Scholar
Tombaugh, T. (2004). Trail making test A and B: normative data stratified by age and education. Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology, 19, 203–214.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Verhage, F. (1964). Intelligence and Age: Research on Dutch People, Aged 12–77. Assen: Van Gorcum.Google Scholar
Wetterling, T., Veltrup, C., John, U. and Driessen, M. (2003). Late onset alcoholism. European Psychiatry, 18, 112–118.Google Scholar
Yonker, J. E., Nilsson, L. G., Herlitz, A. and Anthenelli, R. M. (2005). Sex differences in spatial visualization and episodic memory as a function of alcohol consumption. Alcohol and Alcoholism, 40, 201–207.Google Scholar
Zahr, N. M., Pitel, A.-L., Chanraud, S. and Sullivan, E. V. (2010). Contributions of studies on alcohol use disorders to understanding cerebellar function. Neuropsychology Review, 20, 280–289.Google Scholar