Pointing out that the number of alcohol-related diseases is on the rise in India, Dr Cyriac Abby Philips, senior consultant, clinical & translational hepatology, Rajagiri Hospital, Kochi, says that intake of alcohol in any quantity is detrimental to human health as it can disrupt DNA within cells and increase risk of cancer.
Earlier, studies said that moderate alcohol consumption is good for health. A recent statement by WHO invalidates it. Was that a myth?
The initial study that showed that modest levels of alcohol consumption increased survival was flawed. When further research was conducted and multiple factors analysed, it was found that improved survival was not due to modest alcohol intake, but due to healthy dietary habits and physical activity. When these factors were controlled, even the modest use of alcohol was found to negatively impact human health and survival.
How does even a low level of alcohol consumption become harmful?
Recent large prospective studies and meta-analyses of such studies found that even low levels of alcohol use was associated with a significant high risk of cancer in the mouth, throat, food-pipe and breasts. A single glass of wine daily or a few drinks of any type of alcohol a week was found to reduce brain volume, thin out the brain layers and affect grey matter, leading to increased disinhibition and impulsiveness, and leading to alcohol misuse in the long term. Low doses of alcohol also impacts memory and learning. The ability of the human brain to create new long-term memories gets hampered with even modest alcohol use. 10g of alcohol use per day increases the risk of breast cancer in women by up to 45%
How do we classify drinking levels?
One standard drink is defined as 10g of ethanol (alcohol) in a standard glass of beer (375ml, 4% alcohol), wine (100ml, 13% alcohol), and spirits (30ml shot, 40% alcohol). The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism defines (for a period of one year) low drinking as at least 12 drinks in a year and up to three drinks per week; moderate (or modest) drinking as 4-7 drinks per week for women and 4-14 drinks per week for men; and heavy drinking as more than seven drinks per week for women and more than 14 drinks per week for men.
Can drinking cause damage to DNA?
After alcohol enters the digestive system and is absorbed, it is converted to acetaldehyde in the liver. Acetal dehyde is a highly toxic byproduct that stresses the cells and causes cell damage. Acetaldehyde directly damages the cellular DNA by affecting cross-linking and thereby causing breaks that result in mistakes in DNA and also rearranges chromosomes which lead to obstruction of cell division and protein production. This damaged and disrupted DNA within cells gives rise to cancer risk.
Apart from cancer and liver diseases, what are the other diseases caused by drinking?
Alcohol use has been associated with over 200 diseases and negative health conditions that are linked to mental health disorders, acute alcohol poisoning, miscarriage and stillbirth in pregnant women, inflammation of the pancreas and pancreatic cancer, diabetes, hypertension, heart diseases like cardiomyopathy, damage and destruction of peripheral nerves (alcohol-related neuropathy), severe brain dysfunction (Wernicke’s encephalopathy) and Korsalkoff psychosis, stroke, and life-threatening infections.
What is the trend in alcohol-caused diseases in India?
Alcohol kills close to 3 million people globally every year. The prevalence of alcohol-related liver disease in India is approximately 14%. In 2016, an analysis of the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data revealed that in India, a person dies every 96 minutes or 15 people die every day from alcohol use. Close to 100,000 deaths that occur annually on Indian roads are linked to alcohol use. Alcohol-associated liver cirrhosis kills close to 140,000 people every year in India. These numbers are only increasing every year.