Mega Doctor News
Newswise – Young adults who heavily use substances may report significantly poorer memory decades later, a new University of Michigan study suggests.
Researchers tracked how frequently participants reported binge drinking and daily—or near-daily—use of alcohol, cannabis and cigarettes between ages 18 and 30. They then compared those patterns with self-reported poor memory at ages 50 to 65.
The study, funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, was recently published in the Journal of Aging and Health.
“Substance use has both acute and long-term effects on health and well-being,” said Megan Patrick, research professor at the Institute for Social Research and principal investigator of the Monitoring the Future Longitudinal Panel Study. “Poor memory is a common sign of early dementia. We examined whether young adult substance use was associated with poor memory decades later in midlife.”
Identifying behaviors that shape brain health across the lifespan is critical. This is among the first longitudinal studies to link cumulative young adult substance use to self-rated cognition in late midlife, Patrick said.
Young adulthood is a critical period for brain development. The study shows that substance use patterns established during this period may have lasting consequences on memory and cognitive health much later in life.
“Data like what we have from the MTF Longitudinal Panel study enable us to see these associations across multiple decades of development in the individuals who participate,” Patrick said. “Identifying the risk factors that can lead to dementia is crucial for the prevention and treatment of cognitive decline.”
Triple threat and addiction
The results suggest different substances may be associated with later memory through different routes—some through substance use disorder symptoms and others more directly.
For example, binge drinking and frequent cannabis use in young adulthood were not directly linked with reporting poor memory in later life. Instead, they increased the risk of developing substance use disorders for people in their 30s, and those disorders were linked to poorer memory later in life. This suggests that treating substance use in midlife could help protect brain health.
Cigarette smoking showed a different pattern. Daily smoking in young adulthood predicted poorer memory in early midlife, regardless of smoking habits at age 35. These findings highlight the need to prevent smoking early in life, Patrick said.
“It’s important for people to understand the long-term connections between their behaviors and later health and well-being,” she said. “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.”
Prevention and intervention efforts targeting young adults could significantly benefit long-term brain health, Patrick said.
“As we saw, this study demonstrates potential long-term detrimental impacts of young adult heavy substance use on cognitive health later in life. It highlights the importance of early interventions,” she said. “Understanding these risk factors and their trajectory across the lifespan will inform strategies to support cognitive health.”
The study’s authors also included Yuk Pang, Yvonne Terry-McElrath and Joy Bohyun Jang of U-M’s Institute for Social Research.
Study: Young Adult Substance Use as a Predictor of Poor Self-Rated Memory Decades Later in Midlife (DOI: 10.1177/08982643261431)
