Alcohol consumption by young people can damage the bones

Alcohol consumption could affect the bones of young people

It has long been known that high alcohol consumption can damage your health. A study by Austrian researchers showed that alcohol consumption could also influence the bone formation of young people and thus have long-term consequences.

High alcohol consumption endangers your health

Regular consumption of alcohol impairs muscle performance, damages nerves and organs and promotes the development of overweight or obesity as well as mental disorders and cancer. Physicians also point out that the many drinking the risk of fatty liver and gastritis increases. It also increases the risk of cardiovascular diseases such as heart attack. And anyone who drinks alcohol regularly and for a long time does not bode well for the bones. This was shown in an Austrian study.

According to a new study, people who drink regularly and excessively in their youth could cause lasting damage to their bones even before the peak of bone formation reaches around 20 years. (Image: Jochen Mittenzwey / fotolia.com)

Effects of bating

If you want to prevent osteoporosis, you should better with beer, wine and schnapps hold back. Finally, alcohol addiction has been shown to be a risk factor for osteoporosis.

The bone mass degrades and the metabolism of the bone deteriorates overall.

A pilot study funded by the Austrian Science Fund FWF at the Medical University of Vienna now suggests that excessive drinking of alcohol, so-called coma drinking, also has a negative effect on bone tissue in adolescents.

Anyone who drinks regularly and excessively in their youth could cause lasting damage to their bones, even before the peak of bone formation reaches around 20 years, according to a report by scilog - the magazine of the Austrian Science Fund FWF.

Alcohol reduces bone buildup

At the University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, the co-operation partner of the study, young pigs were given an alcohol-apple juice mixture that matched their body weight to drink twice a week for a period of two months.

The animals of a control group received only apple juice. At various times, a team of scientists around project leader Peter Pietschmann first took serum samples and determined various markers of bone and muscle metabolism.

In a further step, the bones were examined two months after the start of alcohol administration. The researchers found changes in the bone caused by alcohol.

"Our results suggest that new bone formation processes are decreasing," explained Peter Pietschmann in an interview with scilog.

To do so, the team took bone samples from fracture-prone parts of the body, which were examined both microscopically and by micro-computed tomography to analyze the bone structure, remodeling processes and the number of bone cells.

The team also conducted blood tests and histological examinations at the Institute of Pathophysiology and Allergy Research (IPA) of the Medical University of Vienna.

In addition to the changes in the bone, the blood samples showed reduced phosphorus and calcium levels, as is typical in humans for changes caused by alcohol consumption.

Long-term effects of the comatron

Based on these results, Pietschmann suspects that coma drinking also has long-term effects on the function of the bone in humans.

"If our hypothesis that bone formation is diminished by drinking continues, it means that the young people who have this problem can not build their bone mass as much as they normally would," the expert said.

With the result that the risk of developing osteoporosis at a later age could be increased. (Ad)