Heavy alcohol usage is connected to increased ectopic fat deposits around vital organs, according to a recent study. The research study even more exposed a J-shaped relationship between alcohol consumption and cardiovascular risks, stressing the dangers of extreme alcohol consumption.
Is there a link between heavy alcohol consumption and an increase in fat accumulation in the body? Current outcomes from the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA) states yes. Scientists at Wake Forest University School of Medicine have discovered that extreme alcohol intake is connected to raised levels of ectopic fat, particularly fat surrounding essential organs like the heart, liver, and intestinal tracts.
The study was just recently released in the Journal of the American Heart Association.
” Research reveals that an excessive quantity of alcohol is not great for heart health,” said Richard Kazibwe, M.D., assistant teacher of internal medicine at Wake Forest University School of Medicine and lead author of the research study. “Pericardial fat, or fat around the heart, is likewise connected with an increased danger of heart disease, so we wanted to much better comprehend how alcohol consumption may add to that threat.”
Research Study Methodology and Findings
MESA was initiated in 1999 to study the qualities of subclinical heart disease– disorders of the heart or blood vessels identified prior to the appearance of any medical indications or signs– and the risk elements that forecast progression to real cardiovascular illness. The research study, funded by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI), part of the National Institutes of Health, has actually consisted of more than 6,500 individuals of European, African, Hispanic and Asian descent who were in between the ages of 45 and 84 and healthy at the time of registration.
Richard Kazibwe, M.D., assistant professor of internal medicine at Wake Forest University School of Medicine and lead author of the research study. Credit: Wake Forest University School of Medicine
MESA individuals completed a personal-history survey to examine alcohol usage and were positioned in one of the following classifications:
Life time teetotalists
Previous drinkers
Light drinkers (less than one alcoholic beverage daily).
Moderate drinkers (one to 2 alcohols each day).
Problem drinkers (more than 2 alcoholic drinks a day).
Binge drinkers (five or more alcohols in a single day without concurrent light, moderate or heavy alcohol drinking).
Computerized tomography (CT) scans were performed in a subset of participants, which allowed the research study group to examine data on the quantity of fat that can build up in certain locations such as around the heart (pericardial fat) and in the liver (hepatic fat).
” The CT scans enable us to see much deeper in the body to measure and acquire a much better understanding of how fat is dispersed in the body. Body fat distribution can explain the distinctions in cardiovascular threat beyond the traditional procedure of obesity such as body mass index. For instance, we understand that 2 people with comparable body mass index can have different cardiovascular threats,” Kazibwe said.
The research group discovered that heavy alcohol usage and binge drinking, compared to individuals who never had alcohol, was connected with substantially greater pericardial fat. Outcomes were similar for other ectopic depots with the strongest associations for hepatic and pericardial.
” Interestingly, the least expensive levels of ectopic fat were seen in people who reported light to moderate consumption of alcohol,” Kazibwe said.
When compared to beer and alcohol or “difficult” spirits, usage of wine appeared to be less related to higher pericardial fat, however according to Kazibwe, one possible description may be the advantages of polyphenols, beneficial compounds found in white wine..
” Also, there are other qualities to think about such as diet and exercise,” Kazibwe stated. “Wine drinkers might have much better access to healthcare and have much healthier lifestyles than non-wine drinkers.”.
Ramifications and Further Studies.
In general, the relationship in between alcohol intake and ectopic fat showed a J-shaped pattern, a typical way to picture the significant increase in health threats relative to alcohol intake.
Kazibwe stated that numerous previous research studies have actually reported a J-shaped relationship between alcohol intake and cardiovascular danger where low-moderate alcohol consumption is tied to the lowest cardiovascular dangers, while extreme alcohol intake is linked to a greater threat.
” These findings are considerable since both excessive alcohol consumption and excess ectopic fat build-up are understood threat factors for cardiovascular disease,” Kazibwe said. “It is also essential to stress that offered the well-documented health concerns triggered by extreme alcohol intake, it is necessary that people are aware of these prospective risks.”.
Cashell Jaquish, Ph.D., a hereditary epidemiologist and program officer at the NHLBI, concurred. “These findings further strengthen the relationship between drinking and cardiovascular risk and shed light on particular sub-clinical illness connected with excessive alcohol consumption,” said Jaquish, who deals with the MESA research study. “Additional research studies are needed to additional clarify the role of ectopic fat circulation in the relationship between alcohol intake and heart disease,” she kept in mind.
Referral: “Association Between Alcohol Consumption and Ectopic Fat in the Multi‐Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis” by Richard Kazibwe, Parag A. Chevli, Joni K. Evans, Matthew Allison, Erin D. Michos, Alexis C. Wood, Jingzhong Ding, Michael D. Shapiro and Morgana Mongraw‐Chaffin, 8 September 2023, Journal of the American Heart Association.DOI: 10.1161/ JAHA.123.030470.
This study was supported by National Institutes of Health grants R01HL088451, 75N92020D00001, HHSN268201500003I, N01-HC-95159, 75N92020D00005, N01-HC-95160, 75N92020D00002, N01-HC-95161, 75N92020D00003, N01-HC-95162, 75N92020D00006, N01-HC-95163, 75N92020D00004, N01-HC-95164, 75N92020D00007, N01-HC-95165, N01- HC-95166, N01-HC-95169, n01-hc-95168 and n01-hc-95167, and by grants UL1-TR-000040, UL1-TR-001079 and UL1-TR-001420 from the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS).
Heavy alcohol intake is linked to increased ectopic fat deposits around important organs, according to a current research study. The research study further exposed a J-shaped relationship between alcohol consumption and cardiovascular risks, emphasizing the dangers of extreme alcohol consumption.
Is there a link between heavy alcohol intake and an increase in fat build-up in the body? Researchers at Wake Forest University School of Medicine have actually discovered that extreme alcohol consumption is connected to raised levels of ectopic fat, particularly fat surrounding important organs like the heart, liver, and intestinal tracts.
“Additional research studies are required to further clarify the function of ectopic fat circulation in the relationship between alcohol consumption and cardiovascular illness,” she noted.
