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Dynamic evaluation of blood marker changes induced by acute binge drinking in healthy individuals: a randomized controlled trial
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  • Published: 20 February 2026

Dynamic evaluation of blood marker changes induced by acute binge drinking in healthy individuals: a randomized controlled trial

  • Jiaomei Li1 na1,
  • Kaixin Pan1 na1,
  • Yuxuan Zhang1 na1,
  • Qingling Huang1,
  • Yicheng Wang1,
  • Menghua Yu1,
  • Yuzhe Zhu1,
  • Zhiyuan Li1,
  • Chenxiang Shi1,
  • Danrui Zhao1 &
  • …
  • Songtao Li1 

Scientific Reports , Article number:  (2026) Cite this article

We are providing an unedited version of this manuscript to give early access to its findings. Before final publication, the manuscript will undergo further editing. Please note there may be errors present which affect the content, and all legal disclaimers apply.

Subjects

  • Medical research
  • Randomized controlled trials

Abstract

Acute alcohol consumption is known to exert widespread physiological effects, yet the immediate impacts on metabolic biomarkers remain incompletely understood. The present randomized controlled trial was conducted to investigate the acute effects of a single episode of alcohol ingestion on various biomarkers in healthy individuals. A total of 45 male participants were recruited and randomized into an alcohol group (n = 40) and a control group (n = 5) at an 8:1 ratio. Volunteers in the alcohol group ingested 40% Absolut vodka within 15 min. Blood pressure, heart rate, and blood oxygen saturation were measured at 0 h, 1 h, 3 h, 5 h, 12 h, and 24 h. Venous blood samples were drawn at 0 h, 1 h, 5 h, 12 h, and 24 h after alcohol intake. Our results showed that levels of liver function markers, including α-fucosidase (AFU), albumin (ALB), and alkaline phosphatase (ALP), were significantly increased in the alcohol group compared to the control group. The 24-h area under curve (AUC) of AFU, ALB, and ALP were significantly higher in the alcohol group. The liver fibrosis maker collagen type Ⅳ (Ⅳ-C) tended to be higher at 1 h and 12 h in the alcohol group compared to the control group. Lipid levels, including triglycerides (TG), apolipoprotein A1 (APOA1), and the APOA1/APOB, were significantly elevated after alcohol ingestion, particularly at 5 h and 12 h. The 24 h-AUC of TG, APOA1, and APOA1/APOB were higher in the alcohol group than in the control group. Additionally, cardiac function indicators, including heart rate, systolic blood pressure (SBP), and diastolic blood pressure (DBP), were significantly elevated in the alcohol group. SBP and DBP remained higher 24 h after alcohol ingestion compared to the control group. This study demonstrated that even a single episode of binge drinking could induce significant alterations of biomarkers related to liver function, cardiac function, and lipid profiles. These findings provided valuable insights into the short-term impact of alcohol on health and highlighted the importance of further research to explore the long-term implications of repeated acute alcohol exposure. Given the very small control group, these results should be interpreted as preliminary and confirmed in larger, more balanced randomized trials.

Data availability

The corresponding author can provide an anonymized, de-identified version of the dataset upon reasonable request.

Abbreviations

Apo A1:

Apolipoprotein A1

Apo B:

Apolipoprotein B

AUC:

Areas under the curve

ALT:

Alanine aminotransferase

AST:

Aspartate aminotransferase

ALP:

Alkaline phosphatase

ALB:

Albumin

BMI:

Body mass index

CHE:

Cholinesterase

CG:

Chologlycine acid

Ⅳ-C:

Collagen type IV

CK:

Creatine kinase

CK-MB:

Creatine kinase-MB

ECM:

Extracellular matrix

GGT:

γ-Glutamyl transferase

HDL:

High-density lipoprotein

HBDH:

Hydroxybutyrate dehydrogenase

LDH:

Lactate dehydrogenase

LN:

Laminin

PⅢNP:

Procollagen type III N-terminal peptide

PRO-C3:

Procollagen type III C-peptide

TBA:

Total bile acids

TC:

Total cholesterol

TG:

Triglycerides

LDL:

Low-density lipoprotein

Lp (a):

Lipoprotein (a)

SBP:

Systolic blood pressure

DBP:

Diastolic blood pressure

Apo A1:

Apolipoprotein A1

Apo B:

Apolipoprotein B

AUC:

Areas under the curve

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank all participants in the present study. Furthermore, the authors thank Chenxiang Shi, Yitong Li, Yilin Li, Keyi Wang, Yingchen Wang, Wei Mao, Lili Yuan, Xueyan Cao and Jianing Yan from School of Public Health, and the entire staff from Institute of Nutrition and Health, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University.

Funding

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC: 82273625), Natural Science Foundation of Zhejiang Province (ZCLY24H2602), Zhejiang Provincial Xinmiao Talents Program (2024R410B061), and National Project for Innovation and Entrepreneurship Training Program for College Students (202410344043; 202410344075X).

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Author notes

  1. Jiaomei Li, Kaixin Pan and Yuxuan Zhang are contribute equally to this paper.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Public Health, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, 548 Binwen Road, Hangzhou, 310053, China

    Jiaomei Li, Kaixin Pan, Yuxuan Zhang, Qingling Huang, Yicheng Wang, Menghua Yu, Yuzhe Zhu, Zhiyuan Li, Chenxiang Shi, Danrui Zhao & Songtao Li

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Contributions

Conceptualization, J.L., S.L. and K.P.; methodology, J.L., K.P.; software, Y.Z., Q.H.; validation K.P., Y.W., and Q.H.; formal analysis, Y.W., Z.L.; investigation, M.Y., Y.Z., D.Z.; data curation, K.P., C.S.; writing-original draft preparation, J.L., K.P., Y.Z.; writing-review and editing, J.L., K.P.; visualization, J.L., S.L.; supervision, K.P., Y.Z.; project administration, J.L., S.L.; All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Songtao Li.

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Competing interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

Ethics approval and consent to participate

All procedures relative to this study were in accordance with the Helsinki Declaration and approved by the Ethical Committee of Zhejiang Chinese Medical University (20231117–7) and registered at clinicaltrials.gov (NCT05882214). We conducted the trial in compliance with guidelines of the International Conference on Harmonization Good Clinical Practice (ICH-GCP) and Medical Ethics Committee of Zhejiang Chinese Medical University.

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Li, J., Pan, K., Zhang, Y. et al. Dynamic evaluation of blood marker changes induced by acute binge drinking in healthy individuals: a randomized controlled trial. Sci Rep (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-40028-1

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  • Received: 10 March 2025

  • Accepted: 10 February 2026

  • Published: 20 February 2026

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-40028-1

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Keywords

  • Acute alcohol
  • Liver function
  • Lipids profiles
  • Cardiac function
  • Binge drinking
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