2. Pancreas
Chronic alcohol abuse is the number one cause of acute and chronic pancreatitis, which is a necrotizing inflammation leading to exocrine cell destruction by accumulation of infiltrating inflammatory cells. It can resolve spontaneously, lead to pancreatic failure, or cause chronic pancreatitis and pancreatic insufficiency that presents with symptoms of steatorrhea, diabetes, pancreatic calcification, and fibrosis.
It does so by increasing the viscosity of pancreatic secretions that form duct calculi with subsequent inflammation and fibrosis, also alcohol oxidation results in the formation of a compound called acetaldehyde that increases proinflammatory cytokines and causes premature activation of pancreatic and lysosomal enzymes within the pancreas, leading to pancreatic autodigestion and fatal inflammation.
It also increases your risk of getting pancreatic cancer.
