Teen drinkers could face liver damage over next four decades

Teens who start drinking early could be setting themselves up for liver damage over the next four decades, a study warned.

Their drinking can predict the risk of developing liver disease later in life and the findings suggested safe drinking limits needed to be lowered.

In the UK men and women are advised not to drink more than 14 units a week on a regular basis with one unit equal to 10ml or 8g of pure alcohol.

Lead investigator Dr Hannes Hagström at Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, said: "Our study showed that how much you drink in your late teens can predict the risk of developing cirrhosis later in life.

"However, what can be considered a safe cut-off in men is less clear."

The retrospective study assessed the association between alcohol consumed early in life with later development of severe liver disease.

It used data from 49,000 Swedish conscripts aged 18 to 20 during 1969 to 1970 and national medical and death records to establish whether any had developed severe liver disease up to the end of 2009.

The findings indicated alcohol consumption early in life was associated with an increased risk of developing severe liver disease.

After 39 years of follow-up, 383 men had developed severe liver disease, which was defined as a diagnosis of liver cirrhosis, decompensated liver disease (hepatocellular carcinoma, ascites, esophageal varices, hepatorenal syndrome, or hepatic encephalopathy), liver failure, or death from liver disease.

The risk was dose-dependent, with no sign of a threshold effect and was more pronounced in men consuming two drinks per day, about 20 grams, or more.