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Alcohol makes brain hemorrhages strike younger and harder
- Nordic Alcohol and Drug Policy Network
- 1 day ago
- 3 min read
02.12.2025 - PhD student from Aarhus is behind internationally noted research showing that three daily drinks significantly increase the risk of larger and more severe brain hemorrhages.
The study shows that people who drink three or more alcoholic drinks a day suffer significantly larger and more serious brain hemorrhages, and at a much younger age than other patients.
PhD student Mette Foldager Hindsholm from Neurology at Aarhus University Hospital and the Department of Clinical Medicine at Aarhus University is the lead author of a new study that has just been published in the journal Neurology. The study shows that people who drink three or more alcoholic drinks a day suffer significantly larger and more serious brain hemorrhages, and at a much younger age than other patients.
The results have already attracted strong attention in the United States, where they have been covered by the New York Times, CNN, National Geographic, Fox News and Good Morning America.
The study is based on data from 1,600 patients with spontaneous brain hemorrhages admitted to Massachusetts General Hospital, where Mette Foldager Hindsholm has spent the past year as a visiting researcher.
Larger hemorrhages and 11 years earlier
The study shows that people who consume three or more drinks a day, on average:
• Experience brain hemorrhages 11 years earlier than other patients (64 years vs 75 years).
• Have hemorrhages in the brain that are 70 percent larger.
• Are twice as likely to experience deep brain hemorrhages, a more serious type.
• Have a higher risk that the bleeding spreads into the brain’s fluid-filled cavities.
• Have elevated blood pressure and lower platelet counts, which makes it harder for the body to stop the bleeding.
• Show more pronounced signs of damage to the brain’s small blood vessels, a risk factor also linked to dementia and gait difficulties.
“Brain hemorrhage is one of the most devastating diseases we see. Even small differences in risk factors can have major consequences, and our results show that high alcohol intake both increases the severity of the hemorrhage and accelerates damage to the brain’s small blood vessels,” says Mette Foldager Hindsholm.
Strong prevention potential
The findings support that alcohol is a modifiable risk factor and that even small changes in alcohol consumption can make a big difference.
“Many primarily think of alcohol as a liver problem, but for the brain the consequences are just as serious. Our study suggests that drinking three or more alcoholic drinks a day can bring a brain hemorrhage an entire decade earlier,” says Mette Foldager Hindsholm.
Senior researcher and co-author Professor Edip Gurol, Harvard Medical School, adds in a news post on Harvard University’s website:
“We now know that high alcohol consumption leads to larger and earlier brain hemorrhages. Reducing alcohol consumption or stopping drinking is an important step in lowering risk. Even for people with relatively low risk of brain hemorrhage, limiting alcohol intake to no more than three drinks per week can help protect against all types of stroke and maintain both brain and cardiovascular health.”
Danish research with global reach
“The study is an example of how Danish PhD students and clinical researchers contribute to international neuroscience at a high level,” says Chief Physician Claus Ziegler Simonsen, Aarhus University Hospital, who is also a co-author.
“We are proud of the collaboration with Harvard and Massachusetts General Hospital, and of the fact that a Danish researcher is leading a study that has achieved such strong international impact.”
Behind the research result
Study type: Cross-sectional study based on prospectively collected data. Clinical epidemiological analysis of acute brain hemorrhages and MRI markers of cerebral small vessel disease.
Partners: Massachusetts General Hospital (Harvard Medical School), Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus University, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, University of Brescia.
