Alcohol alters the makeup of your gut microbiome — home to trillions of microorganisms performing several crucial roles for your health — and affects those microorganisms’ does alcohol suppress immune system ability to support your immune system. It seems that drinking alcohol may also damage the immune cells that line the intestines and serve as the first line of defense against bacteria and viruses. Heavy drinking triggers a cascade of inflammation that damages healthy tissue over time. Unchecked inflammation degrades organs, joints, and even blood vessels.
Liver fibrosis, cirrhosis, and liver failure
Therefore, more studies looking at the effects of ethanol metabolites in vivo are needed. Acetaldehyde has also been shown to affect NFκB-induced cytokine production in various liver cells. Finally, acetaldehyde disrupts intestinal epithelial barrier function and increases paracellular permeability which plays a crucial role in the pathogenesis of alcoholic liver disease by a tyrosine kinase-dependent mechanism (Sheth, Seth et al. 2004). As reviewed by Szabo and Saha, alcohol’s combined effects on both innate and adaptive immunity significantly weaken host defenses, predisposing chronic drinkers to a wide range of health problems, including infections and systemic inflammation. Alcohol’s widespread effects on immune function also are underscored in the article by Gauthier, which examines how in utero alcohol exposure interferes with the developing immune system in the fetus.
Alcohol Types and Their Impact on Autoimmune Conditions
Likewise, male rats fed an ethanol-containing liquid diet (8.7% v/v for up to 4 weeks) experienced a progressive loss of both CD4+ and CD8+ T cells (Boyadjieva, Dokur et al. 2002). Increased apoptosis of T and B lymphocytes isolated from the thymus, spleen, and lymph nodes of female mice was observed following 16 hour culture with 0.4%-2% ethanol, concentrations 5 to 25 times the definition of intoxication (Slukvin and Jerrells 1995). Much progress has been made in elucidating the relationship between alcohol consumption and immune function and how this interaction affects human health. Normal immune function hinges on bidirectional communication of immune cells with nonimmune cells at the local level, as well as crosstalk between the brain and the periphery.
How does alcohol affect the immune system?
Alcohol disrupts communication between these organisms and the intestinal immune system. Alcohol consumption also damages epithelial cells, T cells, and neutrophils in the GI system, disrupting gut barrier function and facilitating leakage of microbes into the circulation (see the article by Hammer and colleagues). Several studies have also shown that the lungs are highly vulnerable to the effects of alcohol. For example, alcohol can reduce the ability of respiratory epithelium cells to remove mucous from the lungs, which can directly damage lung tissue and weaken the proper functioning of the lungs over time. Although this chronic weakening of lung function may not cause any immediate symptoms, these effects can manifest when a severe respiratory infection occurs. In an extreme situation like this one, the gut bacteria start to break down, and endotoxins—the toxins that come from inside bacterial cells—enter the bloodstream, leading to inflammation and other problems, explains Fedirko.
- But in many scientific circles, consuming virtually any amount of alcohol is now seen as toxic.
- Read more to learn about how drinking alcohol can negatively impact your immune system.
- It impairs the immune system, compromising defense mechanisms against infections.
- While it is impossible to fully prevent getting an infection, taking steps to improve your immune health will give your body the best chance of quickly fighting potential infections.
- Only two studies have examined alcohol-induced changes in colonic (Mutlu, Gillevet et al. 2012) and fecal microbiomes (Chen, Yang et al. 2011), and both studies focused on individuals with AUD.
In contrast, moderate alcohol increased frequency of lymphocytes (Figure 1). Heavy drinking and chronic alcohol use can Drug rehabilitation significantly impact the immune system and decrease immune function. The dendritic cell (DC), which plays a critical role in T cell activation and initiation of adaptive immune responses, is another innate immune cell affected by ethanol.
- But even moderate alcohol intake can compromise immune responses, making people more susceptible to infections.
- In addition, alcohol remains one of the most avoidable causes of death in the country, right behind tobacco, a bad diet, and a sedentary lifestyle.
- The adaptive immune response can be distinguished from innate immunity by the capability of generating immunological memory, or protective immunity against recurring disease caused by the same pathogen (Janeway 2008).
- That can put you at risk for long-term disease, according to the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA).
In a Q&A, Peter Monti, a professor of alcohol and addiction studies at Brown University and a leading researcher of alcohol and disease exacerbation, shared his perspective on alcohol and cancer. Those who have any of the known risk factors for COVID-19, like heart disease or diabetes, should drink even less. Alcohol can have a range of harmful effects on the body, which can diminish a person’s immune response and put them more at risk for COVID-19. “Those at increased risk should cut down or abstain from alcohol because every little thing an individual can do to improve the health and reduce risk is worth it at this point, even if the evidence is not entirely clear,” Mroszczyk-McDonald said.
- Multiple studies with rats and mice have shown that ethanol results in tumors at multiple places in the body.
- As the surgeon general’s report notes, there is extensive evidence from biological studies that ethanol, the type of pure alcohol found in all alcohol-containing beverages, causes cancer in at least four distinct ways.
- Remember how alcohol disrupts the protective barrier in the gastrointestinal tract, compromising its ability to regulate the passage of substance?
- HIV attacks the immune system by destroying a type of T cell vital to fighting infections.
- Factors such as the amount of alcohol a person drinks, how often a person drinks, the type of alcohol they drink, and whether they are biologically male or female can increase or decrease how much it affects their immune system.
This has also been shown to be true for many people of Asian descent, for whom rates of alcohol use and abuse are lower than in other demographics, in part, studies suggest, because drinking can be so unpleasant for them. Basically, given differential tolerance, you should know your limit and keep track of how much you drink. Alcohol impairs the immune system by suppressing cell-mediated immunity, weakening the body’s ability https://ecosoberhouse.com/ to defend against infections in the respiratory system.
World Health Organization Health Topics Alcohol
In addition, most studies have been done in vitro using primary cells or cell lines in the presence of rather high, constant doses of ethanol. Similarly, most rodent studies to date have focused on acute/short-term binge models utilizing high concentration of ethanol (20% ethanol) as the sole source of fluid, a possible stressor in itself. For instance, IL-1 induces HPA axis activation and glucocorticoid release that suppresses the immune system (Sapolsky, Rivier et al. 1987). Cytokines are also proposed to cross the blood-brain barrier and produce sickness behavior (Watkins, Maier et al. 1995), which is comorbid with AUD (Dantzer, Bluthe et al. 1998).