SynthesisPsychological medicine2017
Problematic alcohol use and reduced hippocampal volume: a meta-analytic review.
Synthesis in Psychological medicine, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 55 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
55 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 82 citations in OpenAlex.
- Impaired episodic memory in PTSD patients - A meta-analysis of 47 studies.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2022Pooled it
- The Etiologic, Theory-Based, Ontogenetic Hierarchical Framework of Alcohol Use Disorder: A Translational Systematic Review of Reviews.Psychological bulletin · 2021Pooled it
- Cannabidiol as a Novel Candidate Alcohol Use Disorder Pharmacotherapy: A Systematic Review.Alcoholism, clinical and experimental research · 2019Pooled it
- Association studies of up to 1.2 million individuals yield new insights into the genetic etiology of tobacco and alcohol use.Nature genetics · 2019Pooled it
- Effect of physical exercise on the hippocampus and global grey matter volume in breast cancer patients: A randomized controlled trial (PAM study).NeuroImage. Clinical · 2023Trial
- Reply: The consequences of MDMA use are not easily disentangled from other drug use or lifestyle factors.Brain : a journal of neurology · 2026Article
- Transcriptome Analysis of Hippocampus After Weekly Binge Alcohol Exposure and Voluntary Exercise in Rats.Alcohol, clinical & experimental research · 2026Article
- Hippocampus-Ventral Striatum Connectivity Is Associated With Binge Drinking Frequency in Adults.Hippocampus · 2026Article
- Prevalence and Correlates of Problematic Alcohol Use Among Older Chinese Adults: A Study Combining Logistic Regression and Psychological Network Analysis.Alpha psychiatry · 2026Article
- Shared genetic effects among schizophrenia, substance use disorder, and hippocampal volume in a multiplex extended pedigree sample.Schizophrenia research · 2026Article
- Risk behaviours and non-atopic comorbidities of adolescents with asthma.The World Allergy Organization journal · 2025Article
- Expression of GDAP1 Gene Correlates With Alcohol Deprivation Effect.Genes, brain, and behavior · 2025Article
- Cognitive Performance in Patients With Alcohol-Associated Liver Disease Undergoing Liver Transplantation.Transplant international : official journal of the European Society for Organ Transplantation · 2025Article
- Volumetric and cortical thickness alterations in alcohol dependence: evidence of accelerated brain aging and clinical correlations.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2025Article
- Adolescent Alcohol and the Spectrum of Cognitive Dysfunction in Aging.Advances in experimental medicine and biology · 2025Review
- Relationships between serotonin 1A receptor DNA methylation, self-reported history of childhood abuse and gray matter volume in major depression.Journal of affective disorders · 2024Article
- Neuroanatomical Variability and Substance Use Initiation in Late Childhood and Early Adolescence.JAMA network open · 2024Article
- Cognitive impairment in patients awaiting kidney and liver transplantation-A clinically relevant problem?Brain and behavior · 2024Article
- Vulnerability of the Hippocampus to Insults: Links to Blood-Brain Barrier Dysfunction.International journal of molecular sciences · 2024Review
- Ethanol changes Nestin-promoter induced neural stem cells to disturb newborn dendritic spine remodeling in the hippocampus of mice.Neural regeneration research · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundA number of studies reports reduced hippocampal volume in individuals who engage in problematic alcohol use. However, the magnitude of the difference in hippocampal volume between individuals with v. without problematic alcohol use has varied widely, and there have been null findings. Moreover, the studies comprise diverse alcohol use constructs and samples, including clinically significant alcohol use disorders and subclinical but problematic alcohol use (e.g. binge drinking), adults and adolescents, and males and females.
methodsWe conducted the first quantitative synthesis of the published empirical research on associations between problematic alcohol use and hippocampal volume. In total, 23 studies were identified and selected for inclusion in the meta-analysis; effects sizes were aggregated using a random-effects model.
resultsProblematic alcohol use was associated with significantly smaller hippocampal volume (d = -0.53). Moderator analyses indicated that effects were stronger for clinically significant v. subclinical alcohol use and among adults relative to adolescents; effects did not differ among males and females.
conclusionsProblematic alcohol use is associated with reduced hippocampal volume. The moderate overall effect size suggests the need for larger samples than are typically included in studies of alcohol use and hippocampal volume. Because the existing literature is almost entirely cross-sectional, future research using causally informative study designs is needed to determine whether this association reflects premorbid risk for the development of problematic alcohol use and/or whether alcohol has a neurotoxic effect on the hippocampus.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.