People living in colder and less sunny regions would drink more alcohol than others and would in fact be more likely to suffer from cirrhosis of the liver.
Where you live could influence your alcohol consumption. A recent study conducted by the University of Pittsburgh (United States) and published in the journal Hepatology, found that alcohol consumption increased as temperature and sunlight decreased. In short, people living in colder and less sunny regions would drink more alcohol than others and would in fact be more likely to suffer from cirrhosis of the liver.
“It’s something that everyone has assumed for decades, but no one has yet scientifically proven. Why do people in Russia drink so much? Why also in Wisconsin? Everyone assumes it’s because it’s cold,” said study lead author Ramon Bataller, chief of hepatology and associate director of the Pittsburgh Liver Research Center. “So this is the first study to consistently show that everywhere in the world, as well as in the United States, in colder and less sunny regions, there is more alcohol and cirrhosis of the liver” .
Feelings of heat, depression, depression
Why do we consume more alcohol in cold countries with little sunshine? It is true that alcohol is a vasodilator, i.e. that it dilates the blood vessels under the skin, which causes a feeling of heat. In very cold countries, such as Siberia, this feeling can be pleasant. The state of depression sometimes felt in the absence sunshine and in a constant cold climate, can also lead to excessive alcohol consumption.
To find out more, the researchers looked at data from the World Health Organization (WHO), the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and IHME, Seattle Institute for Public Health Statisticstaking into account different factors such as religion or drinking habits of 193 sovereign countries, 50 states and 3144 counties of the United States. They nevertheless established a negative link between climatic factors (average temperature and hours of sunshine) and alcohol consumption.
By comparing all the countries of the world, they also managed to show that this kind of climate contributes to increasing the cases of cirrhosis of the liver. This study therefore suggests that policy initiatives aimed at raising awareness of the dangers of alcoholism and alcohol-related liver disease should also target geographic areas where alcohol is more likely to be a problem.
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