Alcohol, a toxic psychoactive substance with a high prevalence worldwide, is known to be a significant risk factor for various chronic diseases, such as heart disease, cancer, liver disease, and premature death. However, the causal relevance of the relationships between alcohol consumption and multiple psychosomatic disorders remains uncertain. Our research project seeks to address this essential dilemma by using data from the UK Biobank-one of the world’s largest and most prospective cohort studies-to conduct a comprehensive analysis of the health effects of alcohol. We aimed to explore the association as well as the causality between alcohol consumption and different categories of psychosomatic disorders by using a Cox proportional hazards model, Mendelian randomisation methods, etc. In addition, we attempted to explain the proportionality of the associations between different factors contributing to the amount of alcohol consumed and the aforementioned MR-positive disorders.
The project is planning to be completed within 3 years, and the results are expected to be published in a high-impact journal.
By linking alcohol consumption to multiple diseases, it is possible to identify people and populations who are at higher disease risk and offer early intervention. Accordingly, a deeper understanding of alcohol consumption may contribute to improving diagnosis, prevention and treatment strategies.
