A preliminary report: nutritional levels and cognitive performance in chronic alcohol abusers

Abstract

The relationship between vitamin levels, alcohol intake and cognitive status was examined in a group of 19 chronic alcoholics who had just begun to withdraw from alcohol. The results indicate that during this stage of detoxification levels of folic acid are the best predictors of cognitive performance. Alcohol intake, as measured by either total life consumption or years of alcohol abuse, was only weakly associated with neuropsychological tests scores. It is suggested that the cognitive recovery that occurs during the first weeks of abstinence may be related to nutritional variables, whereas the longer-lasting neuropsychological impairments of alcohol abusers may be related to the direct neurotoxic effects of alcohol.