Early‐life exposure to alcohol and the risk of alcohol‐induced liver disease in adulthood
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Date
Authors
Asiedu, Bernice
Nyakudya, Trevor Tapiwa
Lembede, Busisani Wiseman
Chivandi, Eliton
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Wiley
Abstract
Alcohol consumption remains prevalent among pregnant and nursing mothers despite the well‐documented adverse effects this may have on the offspring. Moderate‐to‐high levels of alcohol consumption in pregnancy result in fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) disorders, with brain defects being chief among the abnormalities. Recent findings indicate that while light‐to‐moderate levels may not cause FAS, it may contribute to epigenetic changes that make the offspring prone to adverse health outcomes including metabolic disorders and an increased propensity in the adolescent‐onset of drinking alcohol. On the one hand, prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) causes epigenetic changes that affect lipid and glucose transcript regulating genes resulting in metabolic abnormalities. On the other hand, it can program offspring for increased alcohol intake, enhance its palatability, and increase acceptance of alcohol's flavor through associative learning, making alcohol a plausible second hit for the development of alcohol‐induced liver disease. Adolescent drinking results in alcohol dependence and abuse in adulthood. Adolescent drinking results in alcohol dependence and abuse in adulthood. Alterations on the opioid system, particularly, the mu‐opioid system, has been implicated in the mechanism that induces increased alcohol consumption and acceptance. This review proposes a mechanism that links PAE to the development of alcoholism and eventually to alcoholic liver disease (ALD), which results from prolonged alcohol consumption. While PAE may not lead to ALD development in childhood, there are chances that it may lead to ALD in adulthood.
Description
Keywords
Prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE), Fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS), Alcoholic liver disease (ALD), Drinking behaviour, Exposure, Programming effects, Liver
Sustainable Development Goals
Citation
Asiedu, B., Nyakudya, T.T.,
Lembede, B.W, Chivandi, E. Early-life exposure to
alcohol and the risk of alcohol-induced liver
disease in adulthood. Birth Defects Research. 2021;
113:451–468. https://doi.org/10.1002/bdr2.1881.