Difference in Cognitive Function by First Onset Age of Alcohol Induced Blackout and Its Duration

OBJECTIVE: Alcohol-induced blackout (blackout) is a typical early symptom of cognitive impairment caused by drinking. However, the first onset age of blackout or the duration after onset of blackout has not been directly compared in previous studies. The purpose of this study was to investigate the differences in cognitive function to the first start age of blackouts and their duration. METHODS: Thirty-one male subjects were included in this study. Their age at the first blackout and the duration after the onset of blackout were investigated. Neuropsychological tests were conducted to determine their attention, memory, and executive function. Subjects were divided into three groups according to their age of the first onset blackout (group O1, 40 years). Subjects were also divided into three groups by duration after the onset of blackout (P1, 30 years). We then examined differences in neurocognitive function among these groups. RESULTS: O1 tended to have a lower memory score than O2 (F = 3.28, p = 0.053). Significant differences were observed in attention and executive function between groups P1 and P3 (Digit Span_backward: F = 6.07, p < 0.05; visual span_forward: F = 4.19, p < 0.05; executive intelligence quotient: F = 3.55, p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Greater memory impairment was detected in subjects having an earlier age of the first blackout. The longer the duration after the onset of blackout, the more impaired their attention and executive function skills.

Alcohol-related blackouts among college students: impact of low level of response to alcohol, ethnicity, sex, and environmental characteristics

Objective: To explore how a genetically-influenced characteristic (the level of response to alcohol [LR]), ethnicity, and sex relate to environmental and attitudinal characteristics (peer drinking [PEER], drinking to cope [COPE], and alcohol expectancies [EXPECT]) regarding future alcohol-related blackouts (ARBs). Methods: Structural equation models (SEMs) were used to evaluate how baseline variables related to ARB patterns in 462 college students over 55 weeks. Data were extracted from a longitudinal study of heavy drinking and its consequences at a U.S. university. Results: In the SEM analysis, female sex and Asian ethnicity directly predicted future ARBs (beta weights 0.10 and -0.11, respectively), while all other variables had indirect impacts on ARBs through alcohol quantities (beta weights ~ 0.23 for European American ethnicity and low LR, 0.21 for cannabis use and COPE, and 0.44 for PEER). Alcohol quantities then related to ARBs with beta = 0.44. The SEM explained 23% of the variance. Conclusion: These data may be useful in identifying college students who are more likely to experience future ARBs over a 1-year period. They enhance our understanding of whether the relationships of predictors to ARBs are direct or mediated through baseline drinking patterns, information that may be useful in prevention strategies for ARBs.