Heavy drinking will alter your DNA, Rutgers study found

Heavy drinking may trigger a long-lasting genetic change, resulting in an even greater craving for alcohol, according to a Rutgers-led study in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research.
‘We found that people who drink heavily may be changing their DNA in a way that makes them crave alcohol even more,’ said Distinguished Professor Dipak K. Sarkar, senior author of the study and director of the Endocrine Program in the Department of Animal Sciences at Rutgers University–New Brunswick. ‘This may help explain why alcoholism is such a powerful addiction, and may one day contribute to new ways to treat alcoholism or help prevent at-risk people from becoming addicted.’
In 2016, more than 3 million people died from the harmful use of alcohol, according a World Health Organization report. That is 5 percent of all global deaths. More than three-quarters of alcohol-caused deaths were among men. The harmful use of alcohol also caused 5.1 percent of the worldwide toll of disease and injuries.
By comparing groups of moderate, binge and heavy drinkers, the researchers found that two genes had changed in the binge and heavy drinkers through an alcohol-influenced gene modification process called methylation. The binge and heavy drinkers also showed reductions in gene expression, or the rate at which these genes create proteins. These changes increased with greater alcohol intake.
https://news.rutgers.edu/heavy-drinking-may-change-dna-%E2%80%93-leading-increased-craving-alcohol/20190128#.XFGzkM1OmUn