Health
Common drinking habit may quietly triple risk of advanced liver condition
US issues new guidance on alcohol consumption
Fox News medical contributor Dr. Nicole Saphier joins ‘Fox & Friends Weekend’ to weigh in on new dietary guidance surrounding alcohol consumption as the overall drinking rate hits a new low.
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
Even occasional binge drinking could triple the risk of a serious liver condition, a new study suggests.
Just one episode per month was associated with a threefold increase in advanced liver fibrosis in people with underlying metabolic liver disease, according to research from the University of Southern California (USC).
Advanced liver fibrosis is a condition that occurs in the advanced stage of chronic liver disease, marked by a buildup of significant scar tissue due to chronic, long-term inflammation, according to the American Liver Foundation.
NEARLY 40% OF CANCERS CAN BE PREVENTED WITH 3 LIFESTYLE CHANGES, STUDY FINDS
Consuming large amounts of alcohol in a short period of time is known to cause liver damage and inflammation, according to medical experts.
“Patients often ask how much they can drink,” lead investigator Brian P. Lee, MD, hepatologist and liver transplant specialist with Keck Medicine of USC, told Fox News Digital. “In the liver world, we’re used to thinking about this as an average — for example, we categorize patients based on alcohol consumption per week.”
Even occasional binge drinking could triple the risk of a serious liver condition, a new study suggests. (iStock)
The researchers aimed to determine whether the pattern of drinking affected the risk of liver disease, compared to the total amount consumed.
The study analyzed six years of data from the U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), which included more than 8,000 adults, according to the study’s press release.
LITTLE-KNOWN PRESCRIPTION PILL IS HELPING AMERICANS DRINK LESS ALCOHOL
The researchers focused on those with metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), which is a fatty liver disease linked to metabolic health problems.
Most large epidemiologic studies estimate that MASLD affects about 25% to 30% of U.S. adults. The condition is associated with excess weight and obesity, as well as metabolic disorders like type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol.
The researchers focused on those with metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), which is a fatty liver disease linked to metabolic health problems. (iStock)
More than half of the adults in the study reported occasional heavy drinking, including nearly 16% of those with MASLD.
Occasional heavy drinking (four or more drinks in one day for women and five or more drinks for men, at least once each month) was linked to at least triple the chance of advanced liver fibrosis, compared to the same amount spread over a longer period of time, the researchers found.
CANNABIS COMPOUNDS COULD REVERSE DISEASE AFFECTING ONE-THIRD OF ADULTS
“The key takeaway is that the pattern matters very much, and episodic heavy drinking is an incredibly common pattern right now among U.S. adults,” Lee said.
Younger adults and men were more likely to engage in occasional binge-drinking, the study found. The more drinks consumed during each session, the greater the liver scarring.
The findings were published in the journal Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology.
Occasional heavy drinking (four or more drinks in one day for women and five or more drinks for men, at least once each month) was linked to at least triple the chance of advanced liver fibrosis, compared to the same amount spread over a longer period of time, the researchers found. (iStock)
The pattern of drinking is important, not just the average, Lee noted. “Many patients ask if they don’t drink on weekdays, whether they can drink more on weekends — like a weekly ‘quota’ — and our study is showing that the answer is no,” Lee told Fox News Digital.
“This pattern of episodic heavy drinking is especially bad when compared to spreading out alcohol consumption over a longer period of time.”
Potential limitations
The study did have some limitations, including that it was observational in design and could not prove that binge drinking causes advanced liver fibrosis.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE HEALTH STORIES
It also relied on the participants’ self-reported alcohol consumption, which could be subject to inaccuracies.
Additionally, the findings were primarily linked to people with MASLD and may not apply to all populations.
“This pattern of episodic heavy drinking is especially bad when compared to spreading out alcohol consumption over a longer period of time.”
“This was a cross-sectional study, so longitudinal studies that examine the risk of liver-related events and also potential dynamic drinking would be desirable,” Lee said.
“With more than half of adults reporting some episodic heavy drinking, this issue deserves further attention from both physicians and researchers to help better understand, prevent and treat liver disease.”
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
Julian Braithwaite, CEO of the International Alliance for Responsible Drinking, said the study highlights that “how you drink matters.”
“Binge drinking is high-risk, even occasionally, but that’s not the same as moderate consumption, which is widely seen as lower risk,” he told Fox News Digital. “Not all drinking behaviors are equal, and individual risk matters. The focus should be on helping people avoid harmful patterns and make informed choices.”
“With more than half of adults reporting some episodic heavy drinking, this issue deserves further attention from both physicians and researchers to help better understand, prevent and treat liver disease,” the researcher said. (iStock)
Dr. Amanda Berger, senior vice president of science and research for the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States, provided the below statement to Fox News Digital.
TEST YOURSELF WITH OUR LATEST LIFESTYLE QUIZ
“The research is clear that alcohol abuse, including excessive and binge drinking, can cause serious health problems. The Distilled Spirits Council recommends that people talk to their health providers to determine what is best for them based on individual risk factors, such as medical conditions, family history and lifestyle.”
“Adults who choose to drink should do so moderately, in line with the new Dietary Guidelines for Americans, which recommend adults limit alcohol beverages. The scientific report that informed these recommendations defines moderate drinking as up to one drink per day for women and up to two per day for men.”
Use left and right arrow keys to navigate between menu items.
Use escape to exit the menu.
Sign Up
Create a free account to access exclusive content, play games, solve puzzles, test your pop-culture knowledge and receive special offers.
Already have an account? Login
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
A new treatment for endometrial cancer demonstrated strong potential in a Phase 3 clinical trial.
Drugmaker Merck announced Monday that the investigational drug sacituzumab tirumotecan (sac-TMT) met its “primary endpoints” of overall survival and progression-free survival in patients with advanced or recurrent endometrial cancer.
The TroFuse-005 trial is the first global Phase 3 trial to “demonstrate statistically significant improvement” in survival compared to chemotherapy in these patients, according to a Merck press release.
WEIGHT-LOSS DRUGS NOW LINKED TO CANCER PROTECTION IN WOMEN, MAJOR NEW STUDY REVEALS
This was also the first and only antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) to achieve such a result for endometrial cancer patients in this setting, the researchers stated.
An ADC is a targeted cancer therapy that delivers more of the drug to tumor cells while limiting damage to healthy cells.
The investigational drug, sac-TMT, is administered every two weeks via IV infusion. (iStock)
The trial involved 776 patients with endometrial cancer whose disease worsened after receiving both platinum chemotherapy and immunotherapy.
The patients were randomly assigned sac-TMT, administered every two weeks, or a treatment of the physician’s choice, including doxorubin or paclitaxel chemotherapy. The patients were aware of which treatment they were receiving.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
Those receiving sac-TMT showed “clinically meaningful improvement” in their disease state compared to the treatment of physician’s choice, the researchers found.
The study also met response rate benchmarks and exhibited similar side effects to earlier studies of the same drug, Merck reported.
NEW BREAST CANCER DRUG WINS FDA APPROVAL AFTER SLASHING PROGRESSION RISK BY NEARLY 40%
The drugmaker did not disclose any statistics on exact survival benefit, response rate, side effect rates or other details, but the researchers aim to present this Phase 3 data at an upcoming medical meeting.
The drug “may be able to address a critical unmet need for certain patients with advanced endometrial cancer,” said the lead researcher (not pictured). (iStock)
Dr. Domenica Lorusso, the study’s global lead investigator and professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Humanitas University and Humanitas San Pio X in Milan, wrote in a press release that these results show sac-TMT “may be able to address a critical unmet need for certain patients with advanced endometrial cancer, one of the only cancers increasing in both incidence and mortality worldwide.”
CLICK HERE FOR MORE HEALTH STORIES
“Despite recent advances, patients whose disease progresses following treatment with platinum and immunotherapy are urgently in need of new options, and these findings show for the first time that a TROP2 ADC may be an effective option in this setting,” she added.
Dr. Brian Slomovitz, co-director of gynecologic oncology at Mount Sinai and an investigator on this trial, reflected on the study findings during an interview with Fox News Digital.
CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR HEALTH NEWSLETTER
“Unlike many other cancers that we are treating, the number of endometrial cancers and the number of deaths due to endometrial cancers are on the rise,” Slomovitz noted.
“In the United States, the number of deaths due to endometrial cancer has surpassed the number of deaths due to ovarian cancer, [making it] the deadliest of all gynecologic malignancies.”
Endometrial cancer has become “the deadliest of all gynecologic malignancies,” one doctor shared. (iStock)
Despite recent advancements introducing immunotherapy as the standard of care, “better treatment options” for patients with recurrent disease “remains an unmet need,” Slomovitz commented.
TEST YOURSELF WITH OUR LATEST LIFESTYLE QUIZ
“If the full data confirm this announcement, the key questions will be the magnitude of the survival benefit and the toxicity profile — those will define sac-TMT’s role,” he said.
“But an overall survival improvement in recurrent disease is a real, meaningful result for patients and their families, not just a statistical one.”
WHO issues WARNING after DEADLY ebola outbreak
The CDC is coordinating the ‘safe withdrawal’ of at least six Americans exposed to a deadly Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo after the WHO declared a global health emergency.
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
The World Health Organization has declared an international public health emergency as a growing Ebola outbreak in Central Africa sparks concern that the deadly virus could spread beyond the region — including into the United States.
The outbreak has been linked to dozens of suspected deaths in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and neighboring Uganda.
Ebola is a zoonotic, viral disease that is rare but life-threatening, according to Cleveland Clinic. Outbreaks typically develop in areas of Africa, starting in species like antelope, fruit bats and nonhuman primates.
WHO HEAD ‘DEEPLY CONCERNED’ OVER ‘SCALE AND SPEED’ OF EBOLA SPREAD, SAYS EMERGENCY COMMITTEE WILL MEET
There are four different Ebola strains, also known as orthoebolaviruses. Bundibugyo virus is the strain that has been detected in the DRC outbreak.
While the outbreak does not meet the criteria for a pandemic emergency, U.S. officials are warning Americans not to visit the area, escalating the State Department travel advisory from a Level 3 to Level 4 on Sunday.
A visitor washes his hands at a checkpoint before entering Kyeshero Hospital in Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo, on May 18, 2026, as part of Ebola prevention measures following a reported case in the city. (Jospin Mwisha/AFP)
One American tested positive for Ebola on May 17 while working in Congo and is being transported to Germany for treatment with other Americans who are high-risk contacts, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
As of May 18, there have been 11 confirmed and 336 suspected cases, including 88 deaths in the DRC.
US ISSUES URGENT TRAVEL WARNING AS DEADLY EBOLA OUTBREAK SPREADS OVERSEAS
“This is a rapidly evolving situation, and case counts are subject to change,” the CDC noted.
While no cases have been detected in the U.S., there is a possibility that it could make its way into American territory, posing a threat to public health.
“This virus is transmitted only person-to-person via infected blood and body fluids from symptomatic people.”
Dr. Jacob Glanville, a leading immunologist at Centivax in San Francisco, which is developing a universal flu vaccine, spoke with Fox News Digital about the potential spread of Ebola into the U.S.
The doctor noted that the virus has a two- to 21-day incubation period, during which an infected person can show no symptoms and the infection cannot be detected by tests.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE HEALTH STORIES
“It is thus possible for Ebola to move across international borders silently, bypassing screening,” he said.
“Some travel restrictions from the affected area have been put in place to limit this risk, although as this outbreak was spreading silently for months, it is possible that an infected traveler had come to the U.S. in the past 21 days from the affected areas prior to the travel restrictions.”
A visitor washes his hands at a checkpoint outside Kyeshero Hospital in Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo, on May 18, 2026, as part of Ebola prevention measures following the first reported case in the city. (Jospin Mwisha/AFP)
Glanville noted that while the outbreak is “growing rapidly,” one week ago there were fewer than 500 global cases.
“Thus, the chance of an infected traveler having come to the U.S. remains quite low for the time being,” he said.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
Dr. Robert H. Hopkins, Jr., medical director of the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases, agreed that the threat to American communities remains low.
“The viruses that cause Ebola pose a very small risk, even to travelers to areas with outbreaks,” the Arkansas-based expert told Fox News Digital. “This virus is transmitted only person-to-person via infected blood and body fluids from symptomatic people, and rarely from infected animals.”
Those who believe they have been exposed to Ebola should seek medical attention immediately, experts advise. (iStock)
Ebola spreads through direct contact with infected blood, bodily fluids or remains of infected people or animals, including fluids such as saliva and sweat, according to Hopkins.
Cleveland Clinic notes that it is “very unlikely” for Ebola to be an airborne infection.
CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR HEALTH NEWSLETTER
The virus starts with flu-like symptoms, including fever, chills, fatigue, headache, muscle pain, vomiting/diarrhea and loss of appetite. Other signs may include a rash or spots of blood under the skin, hiccups, bruising and red, bloodshot eyes.
As the disease is a type of viral hemorrhagic fever, it causes damage to the blood vessels and can lead to more serious symptoms, including severe bleeding or hemorrhaging, neurological disorders and severe vomiting.
Health workers dressed in protective gear begin their shift at an Ebola treatment center in Beni, Congo, on July 16, 2019. (Jerome Delay/AP)
For those who have traveled to the outbreak area, Hopkins recommends monitoring for symptoms for three weeks after departing and seeking immediate care if symptoms develop.
Treatments are available, along with a vaccine that can help protect high-risk individuals and prevent further spread, according to healthcare professionals.
TEST YOURSELF WITH OUR LATEST LIFESTYLE QUIZ
Avoiding contact with blood, body fluids, and sick or deceased people and animals is “highly effective in the prevention of Ebola transmission,” Hopkins advised.
“If contact is required, high-quality personal protective equipment is recommended before contact with potentially infectious people and/or materials,” he added.
Fox News Digital’s Michael Sinkewicz and Andrea Margolis contributed to this report.
-
Augusta, GA2 minutes agoNew Augusta commissioner and ‘Yes’ to tax questions were big winners in the primary
-
Washington, D.C8 minutes ago
Go, Go Marty’s! (all the way to Washington, DC)
-
Cleveland, OH14 minutes agoFormer Cleveland bank executive faces 45 sex crime charges dating back to 2004
-
Austin, TX20 minutes agoGOP Texas attorney general candidates push on despite no Trump endorsement
-
Alabama26 minutes agoAlabama gubernatorial candidates focused on November election date just hours after primaries
-
Alaska32 minutes agoGas Pipeline Tax Debate Sends Alaska Lawmakers To Special Session
-
Arizona38 minutes agoGiants end difficult series with eye toward future, not past
-
Arkansas44 minutes agoDave Van Horn press conference: Arkansas baseball coach, players recap SEC Tournament win over Tennessee | Arkansas Democrat Gazette
