Excessive Drinking Can Lead to Systemic Diseases Beyond Mere Liver Strain
Check Liver Health Immediately if Jaundice Symptoms Appear
Provided by Clipart Korea
‘[Financial News] As the year draws to a close, drinking gatherings for year-end parties are increasing. According to the ‘2025 Community Health Survey Results’ by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency on the 15th, drinking rates temporarily decreased during the COVID-19 pandemic but are on a rebound as normal life resumes. Over the past year, the percentage of people who drank alcohol at least once a month reached over 57.1%, and the percentage of those engaged in ‘high-risk drinking’—defined as men consuming more than 7 glasses of soju (50ml) or beer (200ml), and women more than 5, at least twice a week—reached 12%.’,
, ‘If increasing alcohol consumption leads to jaundice symptoms, it’s imperative to check liver health immediately.’,
, ‘Jeon Ho-su, a professor of gastroenterology at Ewha Seoul Hospital, explained, “Alcohol is a Group 1 carcinogen. High-risk drinking can lead to liver conditions like alcoholic fatty liver, hepatitis, cirrhosis, and liver cancer, and it can also cause other systemic diseases, so caution is necessary.”’,
, ‘Alcohol consumption can induce various cancers like esophageal and laryngeal cancer, and it significantly raises the risk of cardiovascular diseases. It may also cause neurological diseases like dementia and depression, as well as diseases like gout. However, the most direct impact is on liver health.’,
, ‘Alcoholic fatty liver refers to a condition where more than 5% of the liver cells are filled with fat due to excessive drinking. Without reducing alcohol intake or abstaining, it can progress to hepatitis or cirrhosis. Generally, it doesn’t show significant symptoms, but if worsened, it may lead to fatigue, discomfort in the upper right abdomen, loss of appetite, and indigestion.’,
, ‘Diagnosis involves checking for elevated liver enzyme levels (AST, ALT) through a blood test and confirming fat accumulation in the liver through ultrasound or CT scans.’,
, ‘With alcoholic hepatitis, the liver enzyme levels generally return to normal within 4-6 weeks if drinking stops, so significant improvement can be expected through reducing or ceasing alcohol consumption. However, if drinking persists, progressing beyond fatty liver or hepatitis to alcoholic cirrhosis makes recovery to prior states challenging.’,
, ‘Notably, when symptoms like ascites or jaundice occur, it indicates significantly progressed cirrhosis, necessitating regular health checks even if no initial symptoms are present, especially if drinking is heavy or chronic.’,
, ‘The most crucial treatment is abstinence; most alcoholic fatty liver conditions can recover solely through not drinking. Recently, ‘metabolic related alcoholic fatty liver disease’ is gaining attention among patients with metabolic abnormalities like obesity and diabetes.’,
, ‘In such cases, in addition to abstaining from alcohol, dietary management, blood sugar control, and regular exercise are essential for metabolic improvement. If progressed to cirrhosis, medication, nutritional management, and complication prevention treatments are administered, and liver transplantation may be considered in end-stage cirrhosis.’,
, ‘Professor Jeon advised, “There is no safe or acceptable level of drinking. Even a single drink may burden the liver depending on the person, but if drinking is unavoidable, men should limit themselves to 4 drinks and women to 2 drinks per occasion. Moreover, taking more than three days off after a drinking session can help reduce liver strain.”’,
, ‘He encouraged planning for reduced or stopped drinking in the new year and communicating plans to people around. “It is critical to seek medical consultation and appropriate care rapidly whenever health anomalies are detected,” he emphasized.’