Alcohol-related cognitive impairments in patients with and without cirrhosis

Abstract

Abstract Aims up to 80% of patients with alcohol use disorder display cognitive impairments. Some studies have suggested that alcohol-related cognitive impairments could be worsened by hepatic damage. The primary objective of this study was to compare mean scores on the Brief Evaluation of Alcohol-Related Neurocognitive Impairments measure between alcohol use disorder patients with (CIR+) or without cirrhosis (CIR−). Methods we conducted a prospective case–control study in a hepatology department of a university hospital. All patients were assessed using the Evaluation of Alcohol-Related Neuropsychological Impairments test. Results a total of 82 patients (50 CIR+, 32 CIR−) were included in this study. CIR− patients were significantly younger than CIR+ patients (respectively, 45.5 ± 6.8 vs 60.1 ± 9.0; P < .0001). After adjusting for age and educational level, the mean Evaluation of Alcohol-Related Neuropsychological Impairments total scores in the CIR+ group were significantly lower than in the group of CIR− patients (14.1 ± 0.7 vs 7.8 ± 0.4, respectively, P < .0001). The mean subscores on delayed verbal memory, alphabetical ordination, alternating verbal fluency, visuospatial abilities, and ataxia subtests were also significantly lower in the CIR+ than in the CIR− group (respectively, 1.9 ± 0.2 vs 2.8 ± 0.2; 1.8 ± 0.2 vs 2.7 ± 0.2; 2.2 ± 0.2 vs 3.6 ± 0.2; 0.7 ± 0.2 vs 1.6 ± 0.2; 0.7 ± 0.2 vs 3.1 ± 0.2; P < .0001 for all comparisons). Conclusions in the present study, alcohol use disorder patients with cirrhosis presented more severe cognitive impairments than those without cirrhosis. Longitudinal studies are needed to investigate how cirrhosis can influence cognitive impairments.