How many years your life shortens excessive alcohol consumption | The State
Alcohol is the third leading cause of preventable death in the United States.
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KENZO TRIBOUILLARD / AFP / Getty Images
The people that drink too much alcohol and with more frequency increase risks to health, disability and they can shorten your life by years.
The health effects of alcohol interfere with several factors, including the amount of alcohol consumed, the age and gender of the user. In the age group 20 to 39 years, the World Health Organization notes that approximately the 13.5% of all deaths are attributable to alcohol.
Alcohol is the third leading cause of preventable death in the United States. The first is tobacco and the second is poor diet and physical inactivity, notes the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.
How many years of life can alcohol consumption shorten?
A study published in The Lancet magazine indicates that adults (regardless of sex) who drink seven to 14 drinks per week may shorten their lives by six months, adults who drink from 14 to 15 drinks per week may shorten their lives from one to two years and heavy drinkers with 25 drinks per week can shorten your life expectancy from four to five years.
The study was based on data from nearly 600,000 (599,912) alcohol drinkers. Higher alcohol consumption was associated with a higher rate of stroke, fatal aneurysms, heart failure, and death.
While most of the negative effects of alcohol use happen when you drink excessively, moderate consumption can also bring serious health problems. Over time, heavy drinking can increase the risk of liver cancer, but the National Cancer Institute warns that since minimal consumption increases the risk of cancer head and neck, breast cancer, esophageal cancer and colorectal cancer.
This is in part because it creates toxins in the body, damages body tissues, and creates oxidation.
How does binge drinking affect your body?
It can weaken your immune system, and thus the ability to deal with infectious diseases is reduced.
Alcohol intoxication, which can be fatal.
Affects the liver and can lead to a variety of problems such as steatosis or fatty liver, alcoholic hepatitis, fibrosis, cirrhosis, and life-threatening liver failure requiring a liver transplant.
Increased risk of high blood pressure, heart failure and dementia.
Higher risk of certain cancers.
Increased risk of injuries, especially for driving while intoxicated and falls; the homicides and the suicides they are also often related to alcohol.
Errors of judgment. You can have risky sexual behaviors or use other drugs.
Increased risk of depression, anxiety and addiction.
Fetal alcohol syndromeAlcohol can damage a baby’s developing brain and cause other abnormalities.
How much is drinking in moderation and how much is excess?
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), excesive drinking includes the binge drinking, drinking too much and any alcohol consumption by women pregnant or people under 21 years of age.
Moderate consumption: one drink per day for women and up to two drinks per day for men.
Consumption of “high risk”
Binge drinking
Women: four or more drinks on a single occasion
Men: five or more drinks on a single occasion.
Drinking too much alcohol
Women: eight or more drinks per week.
Men: 15 or more drinks per week.
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