This is the most dangerous way to drink alcohol for your liver

Often when we go out to party, we drink more alcohol than we would have all week. It’s common to think that going overboard for a day doesn’t harm anyone, but one study found that how we drink may affect the liver more than how much.

Alcohol consumption can have harmful effects on the liver. The liver is the main organ responsible for the metabolism and elimination of toxic substances from the body, including alcohol. When alcohol is consumed, the liver breaks it down into less toxic substances. However, the process of metabolizing alcohol can generate toxic byproducts that can damage liver cells.

Liver disease is a leading cause of premature death worldwide, with 2-3% of the world’s population suffering from cirrhosis (scarring of the liver) or liver disease. Since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, alcohol-related deaths have increased by 20%.

According to a study carried out by University College London (UCL), the Royal Free Hospital, the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge, just one drunken night is more likely to cause liver disease than a few drinks spread throughout the week.

Dr Linda Ng Fat, first author of the study from UCL Epidemiology & Public Health, said in a statement. release : “Many studies that focus on 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 alcohol consumption and found that it was a better indicator of liver disease risk than volume alone.”

The study, Published in Natural communications is the first to assess how an individual’s pattern of alcohol consumption, genetic profile (via a polygenic risk score), and whether or not they have type 2 diabetes affect their risk of developing alcohol-related cirrhosis (ARC).

Alcohol-related cirrhosis is a specific form of liver cirrhosis that develops as a result of chronic, excessive alcohol consumption. When the liver tries to repair damaged tissue, scar tissue forms in place of normal liver tissue.. Over time, these scars can obstruct blood flow to the liver, hindering its ability to perform its vital functions. such as the metabolization of toxic substances and the production of essential proteins.

Researchers analyzed data from 312,599 actively drinking adults in the UK Biobank, to assess the impact of the mode of alcohol consumption, genetic predisposition and Type 2 diabetes in the probability of developing ARC.

The results reveal that drinkers who devoted themselves to a excessive consumption of alcohol, who is classified as having 12 units per day at some point during the week, were three times more likely to develop ARC . The risk for people with a high genetic predisposition was four times higher and the risk for type 2 diabetics was twice as high.

Dr Fat added that “the other key finding was that the more risk factors involved, the greater the ‘excess risk’ due to the interaction of these factors.

This means that when excessive alcohol consumption and a high genetic predisposition were at play, the risk of developing ARC was six times higher than the baseline risk. The addition of type 2 diabetes also brings an even higher risk.

Dr Gautam Mehta, lead author of the study from the Division of Medicine at UCL and the Royal Free Hospital, said in the release: “Our results suggest, for example, that it would be more harmful to drink 21 units in a few sessions rather than spreading them evenly over a week.”

According to the researchers, the study becomes relevant because it helps direct interventions towards those who have high drinking habits and reveals that it is not only the quantity drunk in general, but also the way in which it is drunk that account.

“Drinking too much, too quickly, or drinking to get drunk can have serious consequences for liver health. » Pamela Healy, chief executive of the British Liver Trust, said in a statement. An alcohol strategy including taxation, tighter controls on alcohol advertising and marketing and greater awareness of the dangers of excessive alcohol consumption is essential to protect the population.