Key points from article :
Study reveals that alcohol consumption can increase the risk of over 60 diseases in Chinese men, many of which were not previously linked to alcohol consumption.
It is estimated that alcohol use contributes to approximately 3 million deaths globally each year, with numbers increasing in many low- and middle-income countries, including China.
Using data from over 512,000 adults in China collected from the China Kadoorie Biobank (CKB), researchers identified the health effects of alcohol use on more than 200 diseases over a 12-year period.
The study found that regular alcohol intake (at least once a week) was associated with higher risks of 61 diseases in men, including 28 known alcohol-related diseases and 33 diseases not previously linked to alcohol, such as gout, cataracts, certain fractures, and gastric ulcers.
Regular alcohol consumption also led to significantly higher risk of developing any disease and more frequent hospital stays, compared to occasional drinkers.
Certain drinking habits like daily drinking, binge drinking, and drinking outside of mealtimes significantly increased the risk of certain diseases, especially liver cirrhosis.
Genetic analyses showed a dose-dependent causal effect on alcohol-related diseases, with every four drinks per day associated with a 14% higher risk of established alcohol-related diseases, a 6% higher risk of diseases not previously linked to alcohol, and over two-fold higher risk of liver cirrhosis and gout.
Higher alcohol intake was associated with a higher risk of stroke in a dose-response manner, but there was no increased risk with ischemic heart disease. Moderate drinking had no protective effects against ischemic heart disease.
Researchers by Oxford Population Health and Peking University published in Nature Medicine.
