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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Chiara Fiorillo

Full list of 60 diseases linked to drinking alcohol - including ulcers and cataracts

Drinking any amount of alcohol can put you at risk of developing 60 diseases, including many that were not previously connected to boozing, a recent study has found.

Alcohol consumption accounted for about three million deaths worldwide in 2016 and as part of a major study in China, researchers have now analysed the risk involved with drinking booze.

The harmful effects of heavy drinking for certain diseases including liver cirrhosis, stroke and several types of cancer are well known, but few studies have assessed the impact of alcohol on an extensive range of diseases.

Oxford Population Health and Peking University published a new study last month focused on the long-term effects of consuming alcohol.

Gout, cataract, certain fractures, and gastric ulcers are among the new diseases now linked to alcohol consumption (Getty Images)

Assessing information from China's Biobank systems, researchers found that "among men, alcohol intake was positively associated with 61 diseases, including 33 not defined by the World Health Organization as alcohol-related."

Gout, cataract, certain fractures, and gastric ulcers are among the new diseases that are now being linked to regular alcohol consumption (at least one drink a week).

The study, published in the journal Nature Medicine, found that men who drank alcohol regularly had a significantly higher risk of developing any disease and experienced more frequent hospitalisations compared to men who had only drunk alcohol occasionally.

Some drinking patterns such as drinking daily or "binge" episodes particularly increased the risks of certain diseases, particularly liver cirrhosis, scientists found.

Study author Pek Kei Im said: "Alcohol consumption is adversely related to a much wider range of diseases than has previously been established, and our findings show these associations are likely to be causal."

Professor Liming Li, a senior author and CKB co-PI from Peking University, said: "Levels of alcohol consumption are rising in China, particularly among men.

"This large collaborative study demonstrates a need to strengthen alcohol control policies in China."

Iona Millwood, Associate Professor at Oxford Population Health and a senior author of the study, said: "It is becoming clear that the harmful use of alcohol is one of the most important risk factors for poor health, both in China and globally."

Diseases linked to alcohol consumption

  1. Tuberculosis
  2. Laryngeal cancer
  3. Oesophageal cancer
  4. Liver cancer
  5. Uncertain neoplasm
  6. Colon cancer
  7. Lung cancer
  8. Rectal cancer
  9. Other cancer
  10. Lip, oral cavity and pharynx cancer
  11. Stomach cancer
  12. Other anaemias
  13. Purpura and other haemorrhagic conditions
  14. Other metabolic disorders
  15. Diabetes melitus
  16. Less common psychiatric and behavioural conditions combined
  17. Epilepsy
  18. Transient cerebral ischaemic attacks
  19. Cataract
  20. Phlebitis and thrombophlebitis
  21. Cardiomyopathy
  22. Intracerebral haemorrhage
  23. Sequelae of cerebrovascular disease
  24. Hypertensive heart disease
  25. Essential (primary) hypertension
  26. Cerebral infarction
  27. Complications of heart disease
  28. Stroke, not specified
  29. Occlusion and stenosis of cerebral arteries
  30. Occlusion and stenosis of precerebral arteries
  31. Other cerebrovascular diseases
  32. Chronic ischaemic heart disease
  33. Less common circulatory diseases combined
  34. Unspecified chronic bronchitis
  35. Other chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
  36. Pneumonia
  37. Alcoholic liver disease
  38. Fibrosis and cirrhosis of liver
  39. Other inflammatory liver diseases
  40. Abscess of anal and rectal regions
  41. Gastro−oesophageal reflux disease
  42. Gastric ulcer
  43. Other diseases of digestive system
  44. Other diseases of liver
  45. Pancreatitis
  46. Other local infections (skin/subcutaneous tissue)
  47. Osteonecrosis
  48. Gout
  49. Other arthrosis
  50. Abnormal results of function studies
  51. Malaise and fatigue
  52. Other ill−defined/unspecified mortality causes
  53. Unknown/unspecified morbidity causes
  54. Fracture of shoulder and upper arm
  55. Fracture of femur
  56. Fracture of rib(s)/sternum/thoracic spine
  57. Less common injury, poisoning and other external causes combined
  58. Intentional self−harm
  59. Falls
  60. Transport accidents
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