Drinking alcohol daily over the long-term is a more important risk factor for serious liver disease than weekly binge drinking, say British experts.
Dr Nick Sheron and colleagues from Southampton University, UK, published a study this week examining drinking patterns and conclude that frequent heavy drinking can begin at an early age.
The findings come in the wake of a controversial report from the chief medical officer, Sir Liam Donaldson. He claims that cheap alcohol and “passive drinking” are major health problems in Britain.
Adults consume the equivalent of 120 bottles of wine a year each, says Sir Liam, who would like excess drinking to be made socially unacceptable. He wants a minimum price of 50p per unit of alcohol, however Prime Minister Gordon Brown rejected the proposal.
The Southampton University team took figures from 234 liver disease patients. Of the 106 with alcohol-related liver disease, 71 per cent drank on a daily basis. They also began drinking at a significantly younger age than the other patients (on average at 15 years old).
Dr Sheron said: “If we are to turn the tide of liver deaths, then along with an overall reduction in alcohol consumption – which means tackling cheap booze and unregulated marketing – we need to find a way to identify those people who are most likely to develop alcohol-related illnesses at a much earlier stage, and perhaps we need to pay as much attention to the frequency of drinking occasions as we do to binge drinking.”
In the journal Addiction, he recommends several alcohol-free days a week as a healthier adult drinking pattern.
Hatton, J. et al. Drinking patterns, dependency and life-time drinking history in alcohol-related liver disease. Addiction, Vol. 104, March 19, 2009, pp. 587-92.
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