The 3 common risk factors that mean your social boozing habits could turn deadly revealed
WE'RE all aware that too much booze is bad for health.
But now a new study has suggested three common risk factors put some drinkers at more risk than others when it comes to advanced liver disease.
Countless studies have linked excessive drinking to an increased risk of stroke, heart disease and cancer.
And alcohol consumption is the most common cause of liver disease in the UK, accounting for six in 10 cases.
Up to one in five people in the UK drink alcohol in a way that could harm their liver, according to the British Liver Trust.
A new study published in Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology from looked at 'heavy drinkers' which were defined as having 1.5 drinks a day in women, and two a day for men.
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It found heavy drinkers with either diabetes or a high waist circumference are as much as 2.4 times more likely to develop advanced liver disease.
People with high blood pressure were 1.8 times more likely.
Having high triglycerides (elevated levels of a type of fat in the blood) and low HDL (high-density lipoprotein or 'good' cholesterol) had weaker links to liver disease.
Diabetes, high blood pressure and a high waist circumference (35 inches for women; 40 inches for men), which is associated with obesity, belong to a cluster of five health conditions that influence a person's risk for heart attack and stroke.
These are known as cardiometabolic risk factors.
They've been linked to the buildup of fat in the liver, which can lead to fibrosis, a type of liver disease where scarring has occurred.
He said: “The results identify a very high-risk segment of the population prone to liver disease and suggest that preexisting health issues may have a large impact on how alcohol affects the liver."
Alcohol consumption has been on the rise since the COVID-19 pandemic, noted Lee.
As part of the study, the team analysed data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey - a large national survey of more than 40,000 participants looking at heavy drinking habits, individual cardiometabolic risk factors and cases of significant liver fibrosis.
But Lee emphasised the study doesn't imply that it's safe to drink among those without these cardiometabolic risk factors.
“We know that alcohol is toxic to the liver and all heavy drinkers are at risk for advanced liver disease,” he said.
The researchers hope the results of the study will encourage people to consider their individual health more when making decisions about drinking.
They would also like to see doctors offer more personalised health screenings and interventions for those who drink with cardiometabolic risk factors so liver disease can be caught early and treated.
Early signs of alcohol-related liver disease
Alcohol-related liver disease (ARLD) tends to not have any noticeable symptoms until their liver is badly damaged.
But if early signs do show, the NHS says the following symptoms may occur:
- abdominal pain (stomach ache)
- loss of appetite
- fatigue
- feeling sick
- diarrhoea
- feeling generally unwell
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Contact your GP for advice if you have a history of regular alcohol misuse.