As alcohol abuse progresses, the belly can become hard and distended, and fluid buildup called ascites can be a sign of liver damage. Beer drinkers aren’t the only ones prone to beer bellies. Even diet-conscious alcoholic beverages like vodka sodas can lead to disproportionate belly weight if you drink enough of them. I’ve spent the last seven years researching and understanding alcoholism, addiction, and how people get sober.
Study Uncovers Impact of Binge Drinking, Longtime Alcohol Consumption on Biological Aging
I’m sure there are papers I’ve missed showing a relationship between alcohol consumption and skin ageing. It’s just to point out that it probably doesn’t give you wrinkles. If you’re struggling with addiction, r/stopdrinking is a fabulous community.
- The results shouldn’t be interpreted to mean that people can start drinking and smoking at moderate levels, says Tolstrup.
- We understand when an older person trips or falls and breaks a bone.
- While there remains some disagreement about how precisely smoking can lead to premature aging, there is near unanimous agreement that smoking will reduce your skin’s elasticity.
- However, it’s important to note that these papers are virtually all in vitro (in a plastic dish) using very high concentrations of ethanol, for extended periods of time, which wouldn’t happen in real life.
- This can affect your personality, making you act and feel older than you are.
Hyperpigmentation and Redness
“In general, there is an ever-larger body of science alcoholism showing how, exactly, alcohol causes so much ill-health and so many early deaths. The study looked at the genetics of nearly a quarter of a million people in the U.K., focusing on telomeres, the protective cap at the end of chromosomes. Telomeres stop damage to DNA during cell division but get shorter every time, offering less protection. Eventually, they are so degraded that the cell dies as it can no longer divide. Discover the latest scientific research to uncover the impact of alcohol on the aging process. Unfortunately, the already low levels of these enzymes continue to decrease as women age, meaning that alcohol is metabolized (changed into a form your body can use) much more slowly.
How do Drugs Affect Your Physical Appearance?
Accelerated telomere shrinkage was only found in those who drink and not in those who had drunk previously or never at all. And the alcohol metabolism gene, AD1HB, was the strongest genetic predictor of telomere length. The most likely suspect, according to the does alcohol make you look older study’s co-authors, is acetaldehyde — a toxic side product of breaking down ethanol. Acetaldehyde damages DNA and reduces the levels of antioxidant compounds that protect against oxidative stress. Individuals who had been diagnosed with an alcohol-use disorder showed between three and six additional years of age-related change compared to those who had not received that diagnosis. The increases in aging did not slow as alcohol intake increased.
