There also is a great heterogeneity in the terms that describe ARD across different countries. These may be the lifestyles of alcohol abusers, concomitant other substance abuse, associated complications like head injury, psychiatric comorbidities, and a higher rate of vascular risk factors, which may independently predispose an individual for cognitive decline ( 6). Various confounding factors often complicate the assessment of ARD. Varying patterns of drinking (duration, quantity, binge, abstinent and withdrawal periods in between) along with difficulties in obtaining an accurate self-report of alcohol use (recall problems) may complicate attempts of correlating alcohol abuse to cognitive impairment. This is due to different types and strengths of liquor available across the countries, varying definitions of leisure drinking and pathological drinking, different cultural beliefs, and different definitions of standard drink ( 5). The correlation between the amount and duration of alcohol consumption and occurrence of ARD is not well-established. There are doubts and debates concerning ARD whether the cognitive impairment or dementia is due to direct ethanol neurotoxicity, or representation of another underlying pathology (thiamine adeficiency) or if it is multifactorial (neurotoxicity as well as multivitamin deficiency) ( 4). Recently, researchers have showed interest owing to its magnitude, ageing of population and focus of health bodies on alcohol-related issues across the world ( 3). Excessive and prolonged alcohol use may lead to permanent structural and functional damage to the brain ( 2).Īlcohol-related dementia (ARD) has received little recognition as a distinctive clinical entity, predominantly due to doubts regarding the etiopathogenesis and lack of pathophysiological profile typical for ARD. Alcohol is considered a social evil worldwide owing to its vast array of associated problems and complications, which may manifest in medical, legal or social domains ( 1).
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