Healthcare (Commonwealth Union) – New research conducted at the University of Michigan indicates that young adults who frequently use substances may experience noticeably worse memory many years later.
Researchers monitored how often participants reported binge drinking as well as daily—or nearly daily—use of alcohol, cannabis and cigarettes between the ages of 18 and 30. They then compared those usage patterns with participants’ own reports of memory problems when they were between 50 and 65 years old.
The research, supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, was recently published in the Journal of Aging and Health.
Megan Patrick, research professor at the Institute for Social Research and principal investigator of the Monitoring the Future Longitudinal Panel Study indicated that substance use can have both immediate and long-term impacts on health and overall well-being.
She also stated that memory problems are often an early sign of dementia, and their study looked at whether using drugs in young adulthood is linked to having worse memory later in midlife.
Understanding the behaviors that influence brain health throughout life is essential. According to Patrick, this study is among the first to track how cumulative substance use in young adulthood relates to self-reported cognitive function in late middle age.
Young adulthood represents a key stage for brain development. The study shows that habits of drug use formed during this time can have lasting effects on memory and brain health well into old age.
Patrick said that studies like the MTF Longitudinal Panel give them long-term data that lets them see these links in the same people over many decades.
She further indicated that the recognition of the factors that increase the risk of dementia is vital for preventing and treating cognitive decline.
Researchers of the study looked into the multiple pathways of risk, where the findings suggest that different substances may impact memory later in life through distinct mechanisms—some indirectly via symptoms of substance use disorders, and others through more direct effects.
For instance, engaging in binge drinking or frequent cannabis use during young adulthood was not directly associated with self-reported memory problems later in life. Rather, these behaviors increased the likelihood of developing substance use disorders in the 30s, and it was these disorders that were linked to memory decline in later years. This indicates that addressing substance use during midlife may help safeguard cognitive health.
Cigarette smoking followed a different trend. Regular daily smoking in young adulthood was a predictor of poorer memory by early midlife, independent of whether individuals continued smoking at age 35. These results emphasize the importance of preventing smoking from an early age, Patrick noted.
“It’s important for people to understand the long-term connections between their behaviors and later health and well-being,” she explained. “Even if someone thinks their current substance use may not be problematic because they don’t see it as affecting their health right now, there are still potential longer-term consequences to consider. In this case, we are finding some evidence of potential negative impacts of heavy young adult substance use on their cognitive functioning more than 20 years later.”
Patrick emphasized that focusing on prevention and early intervention among young adults could have lasting benefits for brain health.
She indicated that this research shows that heavy substance use in young adulthood can have enduring negative effects on cognitive functioning later in life and it underscores the need for early action and by identifying these risk factors and tracking their development over time, they can better design strategies to protect cognitive health.
The study also involved contributions from Yuk Pang, Yvonne Terry-McElrath, and Joy Bohyun Jang of the University of Michigan’s Institute for Social Research.
