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Heavy drinkers are at risk of muscle wasting and weakness later in life, according to new research from the University of East Anglia.
A new study published today uses statistical modeling to show that people with the least muscle mass drank 10 units or more per day, about a bottle of wine.
Because taller people have more muscle mass, the research team scaled for body size. And they took into account factors such as protein consumption and physical activity.
The team says their findings, mainly in people in their 50s and 60s, suggest another reason to cut back on booze.
Prof Ailsa Welch, from UEA’s Norwich Medical School, said: “Muscle loss as we age leads to problems of weakness and frailty later in life.”
“Alcohol intake is an important modifiable risk factor for many diseases, so we wanted to learn more about the relationship between drinking and muscle health as we age.”
The team studied data from the UK Biobank, a large-scale database of anonymised lifestyle and health information from half a million people in the UK.
They looked at data from nearly 200,000 people between the ages of 37 and 73.
Dr. Jane Skinner, also from UEA’s Norwich Medical School, said: “We studied how much alcohol people drank and compared this to how much muscle they had, depending on their body size.”
“We also considered things like how much protein they consumed, their physical activity and other factors that could make a difference in how much muscle they could have.”
“Most people were in their 50s and 60s. We found that those who drank a lot of alcohol had a lower amount of skeletal muscle compared to people who drank less, after taking into account their body size and other factors.”
“We saw that it really became a problem when people drank 10 or more glasses a day, which is equivalent to about a bottle of wine or four or five pints.”
“Alcohol consumption and muscle mass were measured cross-sectionally — in people at the same time — so we can’t be sure of a causal relationship,” she added.
Prof Welch said: “This study shows that alcohol can have detrimental effects on muscle mass at higher levels of consumption.”
“We know that losing muscle as we age leads to problems with weakness and frailty, so this suggests another reason to routinely avoid large amounts of alcohol in middle and early older age,” she added.
“Alcohol consumption and measures of sarcopenic muscle risk: cross-sectional and prospective associations within the UK Biobank Study” is published in the journal Calcified Tissue International.
More information:
Alcohol consumption and measures of muscle sarcopenic risk: cross-sectional and prospective associations within the UK Biobank Study, Calcified Tissue International (2023).
Quote: Heavy Drinkers Risk Muscle Loss, New Study Results (2023, May 24) Retrieved May 24, 2023 from https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-05-heavy-drinkers-muscle-loss.html
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