Binge drinkers have lower IQs, say scientists

Young men who drink heavily are more likely to have lower IQs than those who do not, researchers have suggested.

Heavy drinkers are less intelligent than those who consumer alcohol moderately, a new study has revealed

Analysing almost 50,000 Swedish men born between 1949 and 1951 who were then conscripted for military service, scientists at Sweden’s Karolinska Institutet found that men with lower IQs consumed higher levels of alcohol, indicating that more intelligent men make healthier lifestyle choices.

The men underwent tests upon conscription between 1969 and 1971, including examinations on IQ, tobacco use, alcohol intake, drinking patterns and medical conditions.

Researchers said that drinking does not lead to lower IQs, but that a lower IQ may lead to risker, heavier drinking patterns among men. The team, however, also noted that social and economic factors also played a part in dictating drinking patterns.

The study, published in Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, has been lauded as the first of its kind to find “consistent” links between “cognitive ability and alcohol-related probems”.

“In this study of a general population, intelligence probably comes before the behaviour, in this case, alcohol consumption and a pattern of drinking in late adolescence,” said Daniel Falkstedt, assistant professor in the Department of Public Heath Sciences at the Insitutet.

“It could be the other way around for a minority of individuals, that is, when exposure to alcohol has led to cognitive impairment, but this is less likely to be found among young persons.”

Sara Sjölund, the study’s author, said the results may vary with regards to women, as well as across different cultures.

In January this year, research by the US government revealed that six people die from alcohol poisoning in the country every day.