How does alcohol affect the body’s immunity? [WE EXPLAIN]

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It has been established that alcohol abuse has a negative effect only on the liver and pancreas. For many people this myth is a license to reach for alcoholic beverages to strengthen the body and become resistant to “germs”. How is it actually? Can the popular “percentages” protect us from getting infected? How does alcohol affect our immunity?

1. 3 million people die each year due to the excessive consumption of alcoholic beverages
2. Experts increasingly pay attention to the destructive effect of alcohol on the immune system
3. The decrease in immunity after a single drinking of alcohol can last up to 24 hours, which is longer than it is present in our blood
4. “Alcohol consumption carries a risk of developing infectious and non-communicable diseases and mental health disorders that could make a person more susceptible to COVID-19,” warns the World Health Organization
5. Check your health. Just answer these questions
6. You can find more up-to-date information on the TvoiLokony home page

Alcohol – the most popular drug in the world

For years, alcohol has been the undisputed «leader» in the list of stimulants that are most often used by people all over the world. Although drinking culture has changed over time, consumption of it has not only been decreasing, but it is also increasing year by year. According to data from the World Health Organization (WHO), as many as 2,3 billion people buy this type of drink (data according to the last global WHO report from 2018 – ed.). One person consumes an average of 33 g of pure ethyl alcohol per day – this is roughly two glasses of wine (300 ml in total) or one large beer (750 ml) or two glasses (80 ml) of a high-alcoholic beverage.

Americans drink the most (on average 9,8 liters of alcohol per year per person) and Europeans (8 liters). The percentage of young people consuming alcoholic beverages is growing – it is estimated that every fourth drinker is under 19 years of age. The moment of alcohol initiation, which already takes place before the age of 15, is also shifting.

As a toxic and psychoactive substance with strong addictive properties, alcohol is a frequent cause of death. The WHO statistics are alarming – as many as 3 million people die each year due to the excessive consumption of alcoholic beveragesand a significant proportion of them are therefore at risk of deterioration of health and disability. Harmful alcohol consumption is responsible for an average of 5,1%. the global burden of disease. The age group 15-49 is the most exposed to it, as alcohol consumption significantly increases the risk of losing full body efficiency and premature death.

In Poland, alcohol consumption is higher than the European average and has been growing successively for several years. According to the data of the Central Statistical Office, in 2019 it amounted to 9,78 liters per capita, while two decades earlier it was “only” 7,12 liters.

The upward trend is particularly worrying during the pandemic, because Poles – unlike the French or Italians, who consume alcohol mainly in public places – prefer to drink at home. Isolation, quarantine and limitations in social and social life are conducive to the consolidation of this model.

1. The editorial office recommends: What will happen in your body if you drink alcohol every day for a month?

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How does alcohol affect the body? Not only the liver suffers

However, favorable circumstances are only one side of the coin. How alcohol consumption affects our body depends on many other factors. It is not only age and the “initial” state of health, but also the context of drinking alcohol. Of course, the amount and frequency of drinking are important, but the amount and quality of alcohol you consume at a time are also important (often illegally produced alcohol contains many toxic substances that pose a serious health risk). Regular and, above all, long-term and excessive consumption of alcohol mainly affects the functioning of the digestive and cardiovascular systems, as well as the central nervous system.

As indicated by the drug. med. Michał Sutkowski, there is a perception in society that alcohol only damages the liver and there is no talk of how it affects other organs. Meanwhile, experts are increasingly paying attention to the destructive effect of alcohol on the immune system.

– Alcohol abuse causes a wide variety of disorders throughout the body, including the heart, brain and nervous system. It can lead to hypoglycemia and can also significantly reduce immunity. Importantly, such impairment of the work of individual organs often occurs in patients who, in common opinion, are not people abusing alcohol – she explains.

The consumption of alcoholic beverages can disrupt the functioning of the immune system in both short-term and long-term ways. The first – most often resulting from a one-time excessive consumption – leads to dehydration of the body, primarily rinsing it out of the proteins necessary to fight pathogens. Such a decrease in immunity after drinking alcohol can last up to 24 hours, which is longer than the “percentages” present in our blood. During this time, we are more likely to become infected, for example, with a virus or bacteria.

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This is confirmed by the research of Dr. Majid Afshar from Loyola University Health System in Illinois (USA), who analyzed the influence of alcohol on the functioning of the immune system. During the experiment, the researcher instructed the volunteers to drink four to five glasses of vodka within 20 minutes. Then, blood samples were taken from them for several hours, immune cells were isolated from them, and their reaction to proteins typical of potentially harmful bacteria was checked. It turned out that the immune system was working at full capacity, but only for a short time after consuming a large amount of alcohol. Later it was drastically weakened, becoming extremely susceptible to the action of microorganisms.

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Alcohol and COVID-19

In the long term, the body is systematically deprived of micronutrients and vitamins necessary for the proper functioning of the immune system, which also reduces immunity. Long-term alcohol abuse damages organs that are involved in the immune response, including the liver, spleen, bone marrow and lymph nodes. Moreover, it can aggravate the diseases of these organs without giving the body the “tools” to defend itself against inflammation. Studies in patients treated for viral hepatitis show that drinking alcohol suppresses cellular immunity and increases the detection of the virus in the blood. Additionally, alcohol abuse can trigger autoimmune processes that damage this organ tissue.

Alcohol interferes with the basic function of the immune system, i.e. the defense mechanism against hostile external factors. The natural maturation and kinetics of lymphocytes are inhibited, which may not be able to produce enough antibodies to defend themselves against antigens.

An important role here is played by interleukin 10 (IL-10), i.e. a factor that inhibits the synthesis of cytokines (proteins involved, inter alia, in the process of generating an immune response. According to the observations of Dr. Marisa Roberto from the Department of Molecular Medicine, Scripps Research in La Jolla, California (USA) , excessive alcohol consumption impairs the ability of IL-10 to signal a potential threat. An experiment, which an American professor conducted on mice, showed that the abuse of alcoholic beverages significantly weakens the immune system, which in a way loses connection with the brain’s “guardian”.

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This issue is of particular importance in the era of fighting the coronavirus pandemic, when the proper functioning of the immune system is a key element of prevention. This problem is well illustrated by the risk groups of people most at risk of developing COVID-19, which include oncological patients, people suffering from chronic diseases, including asthmatics and allergy sufferers. Even a short-term decline in immunity can significantly increase the body’s exposure to the SARS-CoV-2 virus and lead to infection.

– The readiness of such a burdened organism to fight the virus is also important. The prognosis for an alcohol abusing patient, whether symptomatic or asymptomatic, of COVID-19 will always be worse than for a non-addictive person. Especially when the patient suffers from diseases caused by the regular consumption of large amounts of alcoholic beverages, such as liver failure or alcoholic cardiomyopathy – explains the drug. med. Michał Sutkowski.

The World Health Organization, which already in April last year developed the document “Alcohol and COVID-19 – what is worth remembering?” Also alarms about the scale of the problem. The WHO refutes the prevailing myth that alcohol consumption is an effective weapon against coronavirus infection.

“Fear and misinformation have created a dangerous myth that heavy alcohol consumption can kill the virus. It’s not true. The consumption of any alcohol poses a health risk, but the consumption of high-strength ethyl alcohol (ethanol), especially if it has been contaminated with methanol, can have serious health consequences, including death. Alcohol consumption carries a risk of developing infectious and non-communicable diseases and mental health disorders, which can make a person more susceptible to COVID-19. Alcohol in particular weakens the body’s immune system and increases the risk of adverse health effects. That is why people should minimize their alcohol consumption at any time, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic »- urge the representatives of the organization, encouraging the governments of all countries to take action to limit access to alcohol.

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