Common drinking habit may quietly triple risk of advanced liver condition

Even occasional binge drinking could triple the risk of a serious liver condition, a new study suggests.

Just one episode per month was associated with a threefold increase in advanced liver fibrosis in people with underlying metabolic liver disease, according to research from the University of Southern California (USC).

Advanced liver fibrosis is a condition that occurs in the advanced stage of chronic liver disease, marked by a buildup of significant scar tissue due to chronic, long-term inflammation, according to the American Liver Foundation.

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Consuming large amounts of alcohol in a short period of time is known to cause liver damage and inflammation, according to medical experts.

"Patients often ask how much they can drink," lead investigator Brian P. Lee, MD, hepatologist and liver transplant specialist with Keck Medicine of USC, told Fox News Digital. "In the liver world, we’re used to thinking about this as an average — for example, we categorize patients based on alcohol consumption per week."

The researchers aimed to determine whether the pattern of drinking affected the risk of liver disease, compared to the total amount consumed.

The study analyzed six years of data from the U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), which included more than 8,000 adults, according to the study’s press release. 

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The researchers focused on those with metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), which is a fatty liver disease linked to metabolic health problems. 

Most large epidemiologic studies estimate that MASLD affects about 25% to 30% of U.S. adults. The condition is associated with excess weight and obesity, as well as metabolic disorders like type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol.

More than half of the adults in the study reported occasional heavy drinking, including nearly 16% of those with MASLD. 

Occasional heavy drinking (four or more drinks in one day for women and five or more drinks for men, at least once each month) was linked to at least triple the chance of advanced liver fibrosis, compared to the same amount spread over a longer period of time, the researchers found.

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"The key takeaway is that the pattern matters very much, and episodic heavy drinking is an incredibly common pattern right now among U.S. adults," Lee said.

Younger adults and men were more likely to engage in occasional binge-drinking, the study found. The more drinks consumed during each session, the greater the liver scarring.

The findings were published in the journal Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology. 

The pattern of drinking is important, not just the average, Lee noted. "Many patients ask if they don’t drink on weekdays, whether they can drink more on weekends — like a weekly ‘quota’ — and our study is showing that the answer is no," Lee told Fox News Digital.

"This pattern of episodic heavy drinking is especially bad when compared to spreading out alcohol consumption over a longer period of time."

The study did have some limitations, including that it was observational in design and could not prove that binge drinking causes advanced liver fibrosis.

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It also relied on the participants’ self-reported alcohol consumption, which could be subject to inaccuracies.

Additionally, the findings were primarily linked to people with MASLD and may not apply to all populations.

"This was a cross-sectional study, so longitudinal studies that examine the risk of liver-related events and also potential dynamic drinking would be desirable," Lee said.

"With more than half of adults reporting some episodic heavy drinking, this issue deserves further attention from both physicians and researchers to help better understand, prevent and treat liver disease."

Julian Braithwaite, CEO of the International Alliance for Responsible Drinking, said the study highlights that "how you drink matters."

"Binge drinking is high-risk, even occasionally, but that’s not the same as moderate consumption, which is widely seen as lower risk," he told Fox News Digital. "Not all drinking behaviors are equal, and individual risk matters. The focus should be on helping people avoid harmful patterns and make informed choices."

Dr. Amanda Berger, senior vice president of science and research for the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States, provided the below statement to Fox News Digital. 

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"The research is clear that alcohol abuse, including excessive and binge drinking, can cause serious health problems. The Distilled Spirits Council recommends that people talk to their health providers to determine what is best for them based on individual risk factors, such as medical conditions, family history and lifestyle."

"Adults who choose to drink should do so moderately, in line with the new Dietary Guidelines for Americans, which recommend adults limit alcohol beverages. The scientific report that informed these recommendations defines moderate drinking as up to one drink per day for women and up to two per day for men."