01/12/2026
As the new year begins, people often reflect on their drinking habits and participate in abstinence to learn about the effects of minimizing alcohol on their health. This study from the JOURNAL OF HEPATOLOGY highlights how alcohol intake affects liver mortality and how physical activity and dieting can affect alcohol-related liver mortality.
Healthy eating and physical activity significantly lower sex-specific alcohol-attributable liver mortality in the United States
Vilar Gomez and coworkers examined the effects of diet quality (DQ) and physical activity (PA) on alcohol-related liver mortality using data from 60,334 adults in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (1984–2018) linked to the National Death Index. Diet quality was assessed through 24-hour recalls and a healthy eating index, while PA was derived from questionnaires. Older age, smoking, and binge drinking independently predicted liver-related death (LRD). Higher DQ reduced LRD among all drinking categories, with diets rich in vegetables, fruits, whole grains, seafood, plant-based proteins, and unsaturated fats – and low in solid fats and added sugars – being most protective. Physically active participants also had lower LRD, particularly women. After adjusting for lifestyle, comorbidities, and socioeconomic factors, light-to-moderate drinking remained associated with increased liver mortality, suggesting residual confounding. Meeting recommended PA and DQ levels was linked to 22% and 12% lower LRD in non-heavy drinkers and 17% and 6% in heavy drinkers, respectively.
Full text here: https://www.journal-of-hepatology.eu/article/S0168-8278(25)02334-7/fulltext
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