Utafiti unaonyesha kuwa unywaji pombe kupita kiasi na kuacha kabisa pombe huchangia hatari ya mtu kupata shida ya akili baadaye maishani.
Dementia ni kundi la matatizo ya ubongo ambayo huathiri kazi za utambuzi wa akili za mtu kama vile kumbukumbu, utendaji, umakinifu, uwezo wa mawasiliano, mtazamo na hoja. Ugonjwa wa Alzheimer's ndio aina ya kawaida ya shida ya akili ambayo kawaida huathiri watu walio na umri wa zaidi ya miaka 65. Ni hali inayoendelea ambayo inazidi kuwa mbaya kadiri muda na umri unavyoathiri kumbukumbu, mawazo na lugha na kwa bahati mbaya kwa sasa hakuna tiba ya Ugonjwa wa Alzheimer. Ni muhimu kuelewa sababu za hatari za shida ya akili, yaani, ni nini hufanya mtu awe na uwezekano mkubwa wa kupata shida ya akili anapozeeka. Hatari ya kupata Alzheimer's inadhaniwa kuwa inategemea mambo mengi ikiwa ni pamoja na hali ya moyo, ugonjwa wa kisukari, kiharusi, shinikizo la damu na cholesterol ya juu.
Katika utafiti wa kina uliochapishwa katika British Medical Journal, researchers from France and UK tracked more than 9000 British civil servants for an average period of 23 years started way back in 1983. When the study was initiated the ages of participants was between 35 and 55 years. Researchers recorded hospital records, mortality registers and access to mental health services to assess participant’s shida ya akili status. Along with this, they also recorded each participant’s total pombe matumizi katika vipindi vya kila wiki kwa kutumia dodoso iliyoundwa mahususi. Unywaji wa "wastani" wa pombe ulifafanuliwa kama "vitengo" 1 hadi 14 vya pombe kwa wiki. Sehemu moja ilikuwa sawa na mililita 10. Huu ni utafiti wa kwanza na wa pekee kufanya jaribio lililodhibitiwa bila mpangilio - linalochukuliwa kuwa kiwango cha dhahabu katika dawa - kwa muda mrefu ili kuchanganua uhusiano kati ya pombe na hatari ya shida ya akili.
Matokeo yalionyesha kuwa wale washiriki ambao walikunywa zaidi ya vitengo 14 vya pombe kwa wiki, hatari ya shida ya akili increases as the number of alcohol units consumed increases. Each increase of seven-unit-a-week in consumption was associated with 17 percent increase in risk of dementia. And if the consumption was further increased leading to hospitalization, dementia risk shot up to 400 percent. To the author’s astonishment, alcohol abstinence was also associated with 50 percent more risk of developing shida ya akili compared to moderate drinkers. So, both heavy drinkers and abstainers showed increased risk even after setting up controls for age, gender and social and economic factors. This result again emphasizes on a “J-shaped” curve showing correlation between alcohol and shida ya akili risk with moderate drinkers having lowest risk. Moderate alcohol consumption has also been correlated with other better health outcomes including decreased risk of cardiovascular disease, breast cancer etc.
This result is definitely unexpected and very interesting but what are the implications of it. High alcohol consumption can definitely be decreased by a person but does this study absolutely suggest that moderate alcohol consumption is a necessity? Or did some other factors apart from abstinence contribute to increased risk in alcohol abstainers? This is complex discussion and a variety of medical aspects needs to be consulted before arriving at a generalized conclusion. For example, factors like high blood pressure or heart attack might have led to increased risk in abstainers. Perhaps a variety of factors contribute to shida ya akili hatari.
Kasoro moja ya utafiti huu ilikuwa utegemezi wa unywaji pombe unaoripotiwa kwa sababu ni wazi kuwa watu huwa na tabia ya kutoripoti kutokana na mazingira kama hayo. Washiriki wote walikuwa watumishi wa umma kwa hivyo kupata jumla ni vigumu au utafiti tofauti unahitaji kufanywa ambao unazingatia mambo ya kijamii na kiuchumi. Washiriki wengi walikuwa tayari katika maisha ya kati wakati utafiti ulipoanzishwa, kwa hivyo, mtindo wa unywaji pombe katika utu uzima umepuuzwa kabisa hapa. Waandishi wanasema kwamba utafiti wao ni wa uchunguzi na hakuna hitimisho la moja kwa moja linaweza kufanywa hadi upeo wake upanuliwa.
This work again puts emphasis on midlife risk factors. Changes in someone’s brain are believed to start more than two decades before anyone displays any symptoms (example, of shida ya akili). More importance needs to be given to midlife and lifestyle risk factors which can easily be modified right from midlife. Such risk factors are weight, blood sugar levels and cardiovascular health. A person can certainly alter their risk of developing shida ya akili later in life by making suitable changes in midlife. Giving all credit to alcohol consumption for affecting an aging brain would be perhaps gimmicky as more research is needed in examining the brain directly to further our understanding of neurological disorders.
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{Unaweza kusoma karatasi asili ya utafiti kwa kubofya kiungo cha DOI kilichotolewa hapa chini katika orodha ya (vyanzo) vilivyotajwa}
Chanzo (s)
Sabia S et al. 2018. Alcohol consumption and risk of shida ya akili: 23 year follow-up of Whitehall II cohort study. British Medical Journal. 362. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.k2927
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