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MONDAY, June 14 (HealthDayNews) -- It's not just how much you drink but how and even when you drink that can determine the amount of damage you do to your liver, a study finds.

The effect is most striking for women, according to a report in the June issue of the journal Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research by a group at the State University of New York at Buffalo.

For example, a woman drinking alone and not eating on a weekend is more likely to be doing damage to her liver than a woman who gets the same amount of alcohol while dining with a friend, the report said.

But the picture is simpler with men, with the amount and frequency of drinking more important than the pattern of drinking, with or without food.

"Our study is the first to analyze the relationship between drinking patterns and liver damage," said study author Dr. Saverio Stranges, a research instructor in social and preventive medicine at the university.

The American Heart Association and other heart-oriented organizations acknowledge that moderate drinking can reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, but they stress "moderate" -- a drink a day or so. Stranges and his colleagues were concerned with much heavier drinking, intake high enough to damage liver cells and cause disease that can be fatal; liver disease was the 12th leading cause of death in the United States last year, with about half those deaths linked to alcohol.

To determine the effect of drinking patterns on liver health, the Buffalo researchers questioned 2,943 New York residents about their drinking habits, and also tested them for enzymes that are markers of liver function, such as gamma-glutamyltransferase (GGT).

Women turned out to be more sensitive to the damaging effects of alcohol, Stranges said. The study results showed that a safe level for men is 14 to 27 drinks a week, while for women it is seven to 14 drinks a week.

The difference is due partly to the fact that women tend to be smaller than men, but there are other factors as well. For example, female sex hormones have been shown to impair liver function in some women, and studies have shown that alcohol can be metabolized differently in women than in men.

And while liver damage in men was related entirely to alcohol intake, GGT levels were affected most in women who drank only on weekends.

So there are psychosocial factors at play, Stranges said. Women who drink alone on weekends "are probably more likely to use drugs or engage in other harmful social behaviors," he said. "It is possible that when these women drink, it might be a kind of binge drinking."

For either sex, the findings reinforce the recommendation for moderate drinking, Stranges said. "If you drink, drink in moderation and with food, and spread the consumption over a long period of time, rather than a short period such as a weekend," he said.

More information

The whys and wherefores of alcoholic liver damage are explained by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.

(SOURCES: Saverio Stranges , M.D., Ph.D., research instructor, social and preventive medicine, State University of New York at Buffalo; June 2004 Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research)

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