Alcohol is one of the most commonly used recreational drugs in the world . It has been around for millions of years throughout various ages and is now widely available in many forms all over the world. It is heavily consumed in some countries more than others especially all over Europe, North America and Russia, with Hungary coming on the top of the list in 2016 with 21.2% of its total population from both genders having an alcohol use disorder (AUD) followed by Russia with 20.9% of its total population.
Risk factors for developing alcoholism :
Not all people are at risk of becoming alcoholics, but the risk increases more in the following situations:
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- When you start drinking at an early age.That is the reason why most countries have set a legal age for alcohol consumption, which is over 21 years old, but it differs from country to country.
- Genetics play a very important role as well. If there is a close family member with a history of alcoholism,there is a 60% chance of a person becoming an alcoholic in the future.
- A past history of mental health disorders and psychiatric conditions like depression and PTSD also make you very vulnerable to being affected by drinking.
- The society around you greatly influences your view of drinking,your family, culture, religion, and work environment are very much related to your relationship to alcohol and drinking.
- The environment around you can have a great connection to your risk of alcoholism as people living closer to stores selling alcohol or bars have easier access to alcohol and are more likely to participate in drinking.
- Your income plays a big role in the amount of alcohol you consume. The higher your income is the more likely it is that you consume more alcohol on a daily basis.
⇒ Now, let’s discuss bad effects of alcohol on the body.
1. Liver
Liver is the organ responsible for filtering toxins and regulating blood sugar and cholesterol levels and aiding food digestion. It is one of the most seriously impacted organs by alcoholism, as the hepatocytes are the chief cells responsible for alcohol dehydrogenase production, the enzyme responsible for alcohol oxidation and metabolism.
Alcohol related liver disease is a spectrum of hepatic lesions that harm the body in the long run. It starts with alcoholic fatty liver disease or steatosis which is the warning sign for high alcohol consumption and it is reversible with the proper treatment, then comes alcoholic hepatitis – different from viral hepatitis- where the liver damage starts producing symptoms for the alcoholic to notice like upper right quadrant abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, and jaundice. It then leads to pericellular fibrosis until the final stage of frank cirrhosis, where liver scarring occurs ending in liver failure.
It also increases your chances of getting hepatocellular carcinoma in the future.
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.
3. Nervous system
- Mental illness has a very strong relation with alcoholism as it can be the cause of this addiction and it can also be the result of addiction either way it is very likely for an alcoholic to have some sort of mental illness. High rates of major depressive disorder, anxiety, and panic disorders are associated with alcoholism; as it changes the neural networks’ ability to fully process emotions properly. The risk for suicidal attempts is even higher in alcoholics .Since it is an addictive substance, it dysregulates glutamate transmission which is the cause for increased vulnerability to relapsing on exposure to the alcohol use triggers.
- Chronic alcoholism also leads to many sleep disturbances from insomnia, vivid dreams to waking up with hangovers feeling headaches and stomachaches.
- It is responsible for many brain lesions.
- Itincreased the risk of having strokes, hemorrhagic and ischemic.
- Cerebellar degeneration with jerky movements, slurred speech, and incoordination.
- Memory and learning problems withincreased risk of dementia.
- The sudden precipitation of epileptic seizures as it can cause sudden drop of blood sugar levels that can trigger fits.
- It also causes peripheral neuropathy due to deficiency in vitamins B6, B12, thiamine, folate, and vitamin E that cause numbness, muscle weakness, cramps, urinary incontinence and sexual dysfunction.
- Another very important neurological disorder is Wernicke Korsakoff encephalopathy (WKE) due to lack of vitamin B1 thiamine causing acute mental confusion, incoordination, and even paralysis in eye nerves or a chronic form of psychosis with amnesia, difficulty walking and hallucinations.
- Alcohol withdrawal syndrome due to sudden reduction of alcohol use after a prolonged period of excessive consumption leading to anxiety, mood swings, headaches, nightmares, sweating , insomnia and the life threatening symptoms of alcoholic hallucinosis, delirium tremens, and autonomic instability. That is why alcohol withdrawal should be done gradually and under medical supervision for fear of any of these horrible complications and the earlier the treatment starts the better the outcome is with less severe manifestations.
4. Cardiovascular system
Alcohol affects the heart and vessels in many ways not just directly through the elevated blood pressure and increased heart rate but also indirectly through increasing the risk of obesity that leads to atherosclerosis with subsequent coronary artery disease and heart attacks.
There is also an increased risk of arrhythmias most commonly atrial fibrillation along with cardiac muscle weakness and dilated cardiomyopathy.
But the poison can be actually protective depending on the dose, some studies suggest that consuming alcohol regularly and modestly can lead to reduction in coronary artery disease risk through its antithrombotic activity and action on the lipid profile as it increases HDL cholesterol (a.k.a. the good cholesterol) concentrations in the blood and lowers LDL cholesterol (a.k.a. the bad cholesterol) concentration in the blood. It is also believed to be a good insulin sensitizer, increasing glucose metabolism, and reducing the risk of developing metabolic syndrome.
Despite the much evidence and research many doctors believe that it is dangerous for people with high risk for addiction to go with this rationale as alcoholism is a far greater problem with worse outcomes compared to the minimal cardio protective effect it provides.
5. Miscarriage and stillbirth
Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) is a group of conditions that affect babies whose mothers drank alcohol during pregnancy with many neurodevelopmental disorders, alcohol related birth defects and neurobehavioral disorders as the child gets older. So, the sooner the mother stops drinking, the better the outcome will be for her child.
6. Alcohol intoxication
One of the most serious problems of drinking uncontrollably over a short period of timehappens when the alcohol level in the blood is high enough to affect the vital centers of the brain controlling breathing and heart rate, leading to brain damage and even death, since it is a suppressant it leads to:
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- Loss of consciousness
- Lower heart rates
- Difficultybreathing
- Slower reflexes,most importantly the gag reflex making it way easier to choke immediately
- Lower body temperature
- Seizures
- Coma
If body alcohol concentration (BAC) is between 0.31% and 0.45%, it ismore likely that you will be in the emergency department if people manage to identify the symptoms properly and quickly otherwise it will cause death in no time.
7. Infection
Alcoholism is related to serious infections like pneumonia, tuberculosis, HIV, and immunodeficiency syndrome AIDS. It mostly affects people from developing countries and those participating in unsafe sex. It makes treatment harder and the chances of recovery lower as they are destitute and won’t be able to pay for the drugs and there will be no compliance to treatment.
Alcohol also kills gut bacteria which leads to severe GIT infections that result in more severe life-threatening complications and are extremely resilient to antibiotic treatment.
8. Cancer
Alcohol is one of the group 1 carcinogenic beverages that increase your chances of getting cancer greatly. About 4% of all cancers are attributable to alcohol consumption, resulting in 3.5% of all cancer deaths.
There are over 7 types of cancers related to alcohol use:
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- Head and neck cancers (oral cavity cancers , pharyngeal or throat cancer , laryngeal or vocal cords cancer and esophageal cancer )
- Gastrointestinal tract cancers ( hepatocellular carcinoma, pancreatic cancer, and colorectal cancer)
- Breast cancer
As alcohol causes an increase in gene polymorphism along with changes in folate metabolism and DNA repair dysregulation. It leads to uncontrollable cell growth and cancer formation.
It also increases estrogen concentration in the body through the alcohol metabolite acetaldehyde, which is the cause for increased risk of getting breast cancer.
Types of treatments for AUD
Thankfully throughout the past years, there has been a lot of attention directed towards this issue with many solutions available for people suffering from alcoholism and you get to choose the suitable approach to handle this issue as a treatment approach that works for someone doesn’t mean it will work for another. The most commonly used method nowadays are:
- Support groups like alcoholicsanonymous (AA), the famous 12 step program that helps alcohol addicts internationally to recover through group meetings in the local community or even available online nowadays they are very accessible and very helpful for people who relapse often. It is of low cost, and you get to make friends with people who understand what you are going through, so you won’t have to do it alone.
- Severe alcohol use disorder is a serious medical issue that is potentially life threatening,so medical help is always encouraged as they help you avoid alcohol withdrawal symptoms in a safe way with plenty of FDA approved medications available.
- Behavioral treatment or counseling or going to therapy is a very popular method available recently and it helps you find out exactly the root cause of the problem by using various interventions like cognitive behavioral therapy, motivational enhancement therapy, and family counseling to help stop alcohol dependence and prevent relapses .
People who should abstain from drinking alcohol
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- If you are younger than 21 years old
- If you are a pregnant femaleand during breastfeeding
- If you are going to drive
- If you take certain drugs that have adverse interactions with alcohol
- If you have a serious medical illness
- If you are recovering from alcoholism for fear of relapse