Alcohol use increases the risks of more than 60 diseases in Chinese men, including many diseases not previously related to alcohol, according to a new study by researchers at Oxford Population Health and Peking University. The study is published in Nature Medicine.
Alcohol use is estimated to be responsible for around 3 million deaths worldwide each year, and it is increasing in many low- and middle-income countries, such as China.
Scientists discover that alcohol consumption can cause more than 60 diseases
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The deleterious effects of excessive alcohol consumption for certain diseases (such as liver cirrhosis, stroke, and various types of cancer) are well known, but very few studies have systematically evaluated the impact of alcohol consumption on a wide range of diseases within from the same population.
The study that discovered that alcohol can cause more than 60 diseases
The study shows that alcohol consumption increases the risks of 61 diseases in men in China, including many non-fatal diseases not known to be alcohol-related due to limited prior evidence.
Scientists discover that alcohol consumption can cause more than 60 diseases
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The findings of this study demonstrate the influence that alcohol consumption may have on disease risk in populations around the world.
The researchers used data from the China Kadoorie Biobank (CKB), a collaborative study of more than 512,000 adults recruited between 2004 and 2008 in ten diverse urban and rural areas of China.
Scientists discover that alcohol consumption can cause more than 60 diseases
Study participants were interviewed about their lifestyle and behaviors, including detailed patterns of alcohol use. About a third of the men, but only 2% of the women, drank alcohol regularly (ie, at least once a week).
The researchers comprehensively evaluated the health effects of alcohol use on more than 200 different diseases in men identified through linkage with hospital records over a period of approximately 12 years. Importantly, they also performed a genetic analysis to clarify whether or not alcohol consumption was responsible for causing the disease.
Among the 207 diseases studie, self-reported alcohol intake was associated with increased risks for 61 diseases in men. This included 28 diseases previously established by the World Health Organization as alcohol-related, such as liver cirrhosis, stroke, and various gastrointestinal cancers, and 33 diseases not previously established as alcohol-related, such as gout, cataracts, some fractures, and gastroenteritis and ulcer.