Southampton study highlights risks of daily drinking

Daily or near-daily drinking is putting more people at risk of alcohol-related liver disease (ALD) than binge drinking, according to a study carried out by researchers at the University of Southampton. The study, led by Dr Nick Sheron, found that patients with alcoholic liver disease started drinking at a significantly younger age (around 15 years old) and had signifi cantly more drinking days and units than non-ALD patients from the age of 20 onwards.

The study also highlights the need for identifying people who are likely to develop alcohol-related illnesses at a much earlier stage and recommends that more attention should be paid to the frequency of drinking in heavy social drinkers.

Responding to the study, Imogen Shillito, of the British Liver Trust, fully supported the need for at least two alcohol-free days each week and pointed out that it was impossible to tell which of us would remain unharmed by alcohol. “If you think you are at risk you should visit your GP,” she said. Since 1991 the death rate from alcohol-related illness has doubled and each year over 60,000 people are admitted to hospital because of alcohol. The research was published in the scientific journal ‘Addiction’.