Chronic alcohol consumption is a well-known risk factor for tissue injury. The link between alcohol use disorder (AUD) and kidney injury is intriguing but controversial, and the molecular mechanisms by which alcohol may damage the kidneys are poorly understood. Epidemiological studies attempting to link AUD and kidney disease are, to date, inconclusive, and there is little experimental evidence directly linking alcohol consumption to kidney injury. However, studies conducted primarily in other organs and tissues suggest several possible mechanisms by which alcohol may promote kidney dysfunction. One possible mechanism is oxidative stress resulting from increased production of reactive oxygen species, which leads to an excessive amount of free radicals, which in turn trigger tissue injury and increase inflammation. In addition, AUD’s effect on other major organs (liver, heart, intestines, and skeletal muscle) appears to promote unfavorable pathological processes that are harmful to the kidneys.
- Polyphenols, which are found in beverages, such as red wine, also have antioxidant effects [6,7].
- Na+-K+-ATPase present on the proximal tubular epithelial membrane is important for tubular reabsorption.
- In turn, such expansion of body fluid volume can contribute to high blood pressure, a condition often seen among chronic alcoholic patients.
- According to the National Kidney Foundation, regular heavy drinking can double the risk of chronic kidney disease.
- Heavy drinking on a regular basis has been found to double the risk for kidney disease.
Effects of Ethanol on the Kidneys
Heavy drinking can also lead to a host of health concerns, like brain damage, heart disease, cirrhosis of the liver and even certain kinds of cancer. However, the World Heart Federation (WHF) has clarified that no alcohol, https://ecosoberhouse.com/ including wine, benefits heart health (26). They emphasize that alcohol is linked to health risks regardless of the amount consumed. The previous belief that moderate red wine is beneficial has been debunked.
Treatments for chronic kidney disease
Gonwa and Wilkinson (1996) reported a 4-year survival rate of 60 percent in hepatorenal syndrome patients who received a liver transplant, which constitutes a major step forward, considering the previous uniformly fatal course of the disease. Chronic alcoholism is the leading cause of low blood levels of magnesium (i.e., hypomagnesemia) in the United States (Epstein 1992). Often it occurs simultaneously with phosphate deficiencies, also frequently encountered among alcoholic patients. Hypomagnesemia responds readily to magnesium supplementation treatment, however. What about the kidney pain some people claim to feel after a night of drinking? According to Dr. Bobart, there’s no research to suggest a link between alcohol and kidney pain.
- Uncoupling eventually leads to generation of damaging ROS like superoxide anion, instead of the vasorelaxant nitric oxide that maintains normal blood flow in the kidney.
- Alcohol consumption can raise high-density lipoprotein cholesterol concentration [21,22], improve insulin sensitivity [23], and reduce platelet aggregation rate and fibrinolysis [21,22].
- A heavy drinker is defined as a woman who drinks more than seven times a week or a man who drinks more than 14 times a week.
- Investigators have not yet fully explained the mechanisms underlying this wide range of abnormalities, though, and have devoted little attention to alcohol’s effects on kidney hemodynamics in people who do not have liver disease.
What Is the Hardest Substance in the Human Body? Not Your Bones
Heavy drinking can also cause liver disease, which also makes your kidneys work harder. If you’ve recently been diagnosed with kidney cancer, your doctor may suggest certain lifestyle changes as part of your treatment plan. Excess alcohol can have harmful effects on the kidneys or worsen the side effects of your cancer treatment. For people with diabetes and CKD, alcohol may be safe to drink if you have your blood sugar level under control.
People with chronic kidney disease should not drink alcohol at all, and they can speak to a doctor for help with quitting if they are finding it challenging. The NKF also notes that excessive drinking can cause acute kidney injury (AKI) — a sudden decrease in kidney function that usually resolves with time but may be lasting in some cases. The association of baseline alcohol consumption and decline in kidney function over 12 years among 5729 participants. Points and bars represent beta coefficients and 95% confidence intervals, respectively. (For an in-depth discussion of alcohol and the digestive tract, see the article by Keshavarzian in this issue.) The direct role of alcohol-related endotoxin release in alcoholic kidney injury has not yet been studied.
What drinks are hardest on kidneys?
Since women, with a lower proportion of body water, have a smaller distribution volume for alcohol, they are more likely to have a higher concentration of alcohol in the blood than men. Moreover, women with a lower activity of gastric alcohol dehydrogenase have lower gastric first-pass metabolism of alcohol, which how alcohol affects the kidneys also leads to a higher concentration of alcohol than in men [92]. Since women have a higher blood concentration of alcohol, they may be more sensitive to alcohol than men [3,50,90]. At the same time, the difference in the actual amounts of alcohol consumption [79] between men and women causes this sex difference.
Alcohol consumption and inflammation
- This often goes away after a time, but it can occasionally lead to lasting kidney damage.
- Lowered inhibitions can lead to poor choices with lasting repercussions — like the end of a relationship, an accident or legal woes.
- You can make mocktails in a fancy glass if you want to drink something special, especially in social situations.
- If you’ve already been diagnosed with cancer, drinking alcohol could also affect your risk of developing a new cancer.
- In the absence of ADH, segments of the kidney’s tubule system become impermeable to water, thus preventing it from being reabsorbed into the body.
- According to a study published in The Lancet, it is 100 grams of alcohol per week (30).
- However, we should be aware that alcohol also can contain harmful substances.
- This has a harmful effect on your overall health and can increase the chance of complications.
- If you feel a sharp stabbing pain or a dull ache in your back under the ribcage when you drink alcohol, it’s possible that it’s your kidneys or a kidney stone.
Effect of body mass index on the association between alcohol consumption and the development of chronic kidney disease
