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Binge drinking is more dangerous for the liver than daily alcohol consumption
A glass of whisky. Studies show many people are introduced to drugs and alcohol at a young age.
What you need to know:
- Researchers from the University of London found out that people who binge drink and have genetic disorder are six times more at risk of developing the disease compared to people who drink within daily limits and have a low genetic predisposition.
- They also found out that people who engaged in heavy binge drinking, categorised as having 12 units of alcohol in a day at some point during a given week, were three times more likely to develop alcohol-related cirrhosis.
- Those with a high genetic predisposition experienced four times the risk, while the risk for those with type 2 diabetics was two times higher.
Liver cirrhosis, a condition in which the human liver is permanently damaged, is mostly known to result from long-term alcohol abuse. However, researchers now say that even people who binge drink have a higher risk of developing the condition, especially if they have a genetic risk and type 2-diabetes.
In a study published in the journal Nature Communications, researchers from the University of London found out that people who binge drink and have genetic disorder are six times more at risk of developing the disease compared to people who drink within daily limits and have a low genetic predisposition.
They also found out that people who engaged in heavy binge drinking, categorised as having 12 units of alcohol in a day at some point during a given week, were three times more likely to develop alcohol-related cirrhosis. Those with a high genetic predisposition experienced four times the risk, while the risk for those with type 2 diabetics was two times higher.
The researchers also explained that in cases where binge drinking, genetic disposition and type 2 diabetes are present, drinking patterns may play a more significant role in development of cirrhosis than the volume of drinking.
“Many studies that look into the relationship between liver disease and alcohol focus on the volume of alcohol consumed. We took a different approach by focusing on the pattern of drinking and found that this was a better indicator of liver disease risk than volume alone. The other key finding was that the more risk factors involved, the higher the ‘excess risk’ due to the interaction of these factors,” said Linda Ng Fat, a first study author and a senior research fellow at the University College London.
The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism defines binge drinking for men as taking five or more drinks within two hours, and taking four or more drinks in the same period for women. Binge drinking has been blamed for causing fat to accumulate in the liver, leading to its scarring. This can result in inflammation and cirrhosis as well as fatty liver disease and liver cancer.
Researchers believe that the link between binge drinking and liver cirrhosis needs to be studied more to find out whether there are factors that predispose some people to liver injuries as a result of binge drinking.
They also opine that such injuries may result from the shock of the body having to process large amounts of alcohol quickly as opposed to doing it over a longer period of time. This shock, they believe, can overwhelm the liver’s ability to break down the alcohol and impact the liver cells’ ability to survive acute damage that they may be genetically prone to.
