"Drinking and smoking is like pouring oil on fire"
"If you care about your health, you must quit drinking and smoking"
A study has found that people whose faces easily turn red after just one or two drinks are at a higher risk of developing angina or myocardial infarction even if they do not drink alcohol.
On the 14th, a research team led by Professors Kang Boseung and Shin Seonhee from the Department of Emergency Medicine at Hanyang University College of Medicine analyzed data from 22,500 adults aged 19 and older nationwide, collected by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency’s National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey team from 2019 to 2021. They identified a correlation between facial flushing after drinking and cardiovascular disease.
Facial flushing symptoms more common among East Asians
Typically, ethanol, the main component of alcohol, is converted in the body by alcohol dehydrogenase into acetaldehyde, a Group 1 carcinogen. Acetaldehyde is the substance that causes hangovers the day after drinking. When the activity of the enzyme that breaks down acetaldehyde decreases, the accumulation of acetaldehyde in the body increases. This leads to symptoms such as facial flushing, itchy skin, rapid heartbeat, and in severe cases, headaches or palpitations.
These symptoms after drinking are known to be more common in East Asians, including Koreans, Chinese, and Japanese, than in Americans, Europeans, or Africans. Genetically, the enzyme responsible for metabolizing alcohol functions less effectively, causing toxic substances in the body to increase rapidly even with small amounts of alcohol consumption.
"Men whose faces flush after one or two drinks have a 1.34 times higher risk of myocardial infarction"
This study found that people who easily experience facial flushing have a higher risk of angina and myocardial infarction regardless of their drinking status. In particular, an analysis of men aged 35 and older (6,000 individuals) showed that this risk was 1.34 times higher.
Professor Kang explained, "When risk factors such as age, smoking, obesity, diabetes, and hyperlipidemia are similar, individuals who have a constitution that causes facial flushing after one or two drinks have a 1.34 times higher risk of developing angina or myocardial infarction compared to those who do not."
The study also warned that if a person who experiences facial flushing also smokes, the risk of cardiovascular disease increases by 2.6 times. Professor Kang advised, "It has been confirmed by multiple studies that the reduced function of acetaldehyde dehydrogenase itself increases the risk of cardiovascular blockage in Koreans. Drinking alcohol and smoking in this condition is like pouring oil on fire. Therefore, for the sake of health during the year-end and New Year period, it is advisable to abstain from both alcohol and smoking."
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