Effects of Kindjouss (local brandy) on the visuo-spatial working memory of young learners (Côte d’Ivoire)

Alcoholism remains a major health risk worldwide, and Côte d'Ivoire is no exception. More and more young people, particularly students, are consuming inexpensive alcoholic beverages such as Kindjouss, a strong homemade spirit containing various potentially harmful alcohols. This study aimed to assess the effects of Kindjouss on the visuospatial memory of these young people. To this end, the memory performance of 150 subjects (aged 18 to 25), including 100 regular consumers of this beverage and 50 controls, was assessed using neuropsychological tests (Corsi test and nine-picture test) after inducing a blood alcohol level of 0.8 g/L. The results initially reveal that Kindjouss is mainly consumed by young men in school (aged 18 to 25). In addition, this traditional beverage caused significant disturbances in visuospatial working memory in regular users, regardless of the period of alcohol consumption (before and especially after ingesting the beverage). Furthermore, this dose (0.8 g/l) of kindjouss is sufficient to cause cognitive impairment.