Alcohol destroys human chromosomes

Human Chromosomes' telomere length medical concept and 
telomeres located on the end caps of a chromosome resulting in 
aging by damaging DNA or protection.
Credit: Lightspring Shutterstock.com

Alcohol’s impact on telomere length, a proposed marker of biological aging, is almost clear. 

The studyTrusted Source, published by Nature, in Molecular Psychiatry, is the largest of its kind to date.

Shorter telomeres were found in those who drank heavily or had alcohol use disorder (for example, there were about 400,000 alcoholics in Finland, in other words, about seven percent of the entire population).

In this case researchers reviewed data of over 245,000 UK individuals to assess how alcohol impacts aging.

We performed the largest observational study to date (in n = 245, 354 UK Biobank participants) and compared findings with Mendelian randomization estimates, 

they say.

Telomere length is linked to biological aging and disease onset.

The pros and cons of drinking alcohol are frequently relayed, and there’s a new addition to the ever-growing list. Research conducted by Oxford Population Health, part of the University of Oxford, indicates excessive alcohol consumption can speed up the aging process at a biological level.

Data on participants’ weekly alcohol consumption — self-reported when joining the Biobank — was used as the basis of an observational analysis.

Observational analysis findings indicated that heavy alcohol drinkers and those with alcohol use disorder (AUD) were significantly more likely to have shorter telomeres — an essential part of our chromosomes linked to aging and the onset of various health concerns.

Meanwhile, the MR analysis also found a strong link between telomere length and genetically-predicted AUD. The most influential gene was discovered to be AD1HB, which acts as an alcohol metabolizer in the body.

Also stress has even been reported to accelerate aging and the onset of age-related diseases. Recent research links both chronic and perceived stress and alcoholism with telomere shortening, a phenomenon with a known relationship to cellular aging.