Author: James Anderson

Alcohol’s Effects on Health National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism NIAAA

Dehydration-related effects, like nausea, headache, and dizziness, might not appear for a few hours, and they can also depend on what you drink, how much you drink, and if you also drink water. Health, safety and socioeconomic problems attributable to alcohol can be reduced when governments formulate and implement appropriate policies. And that’s on top of the toll that alcohol use can take on relationships, not to mention the potential for financial strain and legal troubles.

Harmful use of alcohol is accountable for 7.1% and 2.2% of the global burden of disease for males and females respectively. Alcohol is the leading risk factor for premature mortality and disability among those aged 15 to 49 years, accounting for 10%of all deaths in this age group. Disadvantaged and especially vulnerable populations have higher rates of alcohol-related death and hospitalization. A  causal relationship has been established between harmful drinking and incidence or outcomes of infectious diseases such as tuberculosis and HIV. And prolonged alcohol use can lead to mental health conditions like anxiety and depression.

Although there is no single risk factor that is dominant, the more vulnerabilities a person has, the more likely the person is to develop alcohol-related problems as a result of alcohol consumption. Poorer individuals experience greater health and social harms from alcohol consumption than more affluent individuals. Societal factors include level of economic development, culture, social norms, availability of alcohol, and implementation and enforcement of alcohol policies. Adverse health impacts and social harm from a given level and pattern of drinking are greater for poorer societies.

Mental health

That usually means four or more drinks within two hours for women and five or more drinks within two hours for men. For women, more than three drinks on any day or more than seven drinks a week is heavy drinking. For men, heavy drinking means more than four drinks on any day or more than 14 drinks a week. The evidence for moderate alcohol use in healthy adults is still being studied.

1. That’s why hard drinking can lead to diarrhea, which can turn into a long-term problem.
2. If you drink, you’ve probably had some experience with alcohol’s effects, from the warm buzz that kicks in quickly to the not-so-pleasant wine headache, or the hangover that shows up the next morning.
3. When it comes to alcohol, if you don’t drink, don’t start for health reasons.
4. Over time, alcohol can cause damage to your central nervous system.

On the other hand, long-term heavy drinking boosts your blood pressure. It makes your body release stress hormones that narrow blood vessels, so your heart has to pump harder to push blood through. Tolerance and dependence can both happen as symptoms of alcohol use disorder, a mental health condition previously referred to as alcoholism, that happens when your body becomes dependent on alcohol. This condition can be mild, moderate, or severe, depending on the number of symptoms you have. Even drinking a little too much (binge drinking) on occasion can set off a chain reaction that affects your well-being.

But when alcohol swings into action, it tells your brain to hold off on making that hormone. That means you have to go more often, which can leave you dehydrated. When you drink heavily for years, that extra workload and the toxic effects of alcohol can wear your kidneys down. Individual factors include age, gender, family circumstances and socio-economic status.

Risks of moderate alcohol use

In the United States, moderate drinking for healthy adults is different for men and women. It means on days when a person does drink, women do not have more than one drink and men do not have more than two drinks. Along with the hormone changes that alcohol triggers, that can keep your body from building new bone. Your bones get thinner and more fragile, a condition called osteoporosis.

Over time, heavy drinking makes the organ fatty and lets thicker, fibrous tissue build up. That limits blood flow, so liver cells don’t get what they need to survive. As they die off, the liver gets scars and stops working as well, a disease called cirrhosis. If you drink heavily for a long time, alcohol can affect how your brain looks and works. And that’ll have big effects on your ability to think, learn, and remember things.

Here, over 200 million people in the Region are at risk of developing alcohol-attributable cancer. WHO is currently developing an action plan (2022–2030) to effectively implement the global strategy to reduce the harmful use of alcohol as a public health priority. Regular drinking can also affect overall mental health and well-being, in part because alcohol may worsen symptoms of certain mental health conditions, including anxiety, depression, and bipolar disorder. By working together effectively, the negative health and social consequences of alcohol can be reduced. One night of binge drinking can jumble the electrical signals that keep your heart’s rhythm steady.

A public health perspective on zero- and low-alcohol beverages

Others, like loss of consciousness or slurred speech, may develop after a few drinks. Alcohol use can begin to take a toll on anyone’s physical and mental well-being over time. These effects may be more serious and more noticeable if you drink regularly and tend to have more than 1 or 2 drinks when you do. Past guidance around alcohol use generally suggests a daily drink poses little risk of negative health effects — and might even offer a few health benefits. This report provides an assessment of taxes applied to alcoholic beverages at the global level.

Your body breaks alcohol down into a chemical called acetaldehyde, which damages your DNA. Damaged DNA can cause a cell to grow out of control, which results in cancerous tumors. Having a glass of wine with dinner or a beer at a party here and there isn’t going to destroy your gut.

No level of alcohol consumption is safe for our health

With these conditions, you’ll only notice symptoms during alcohol intoxication or withdrawal. These symptoms typically improve quickly when alcohol use stops. If your body can’t manage and balance your blood sugar levels, you may experience greater complications and side effects related to diabetes. Here’s a breakdown of alcohol’s effects on your internal organs and body processes. Alcohol can cause both short-term effects, such as lowered inhibitions, and long-term effects, including a weakened immune system. Despite this, the question of beneficial effects of alcohol has been a contentious issue in research for years.

This makes speech and coordination — think reaction time and balance — more difficult. That’s one major reason why you should never drive after drinking. The pancreas helps regulate how your body uses insulin and responds to glucose. If your pancreas and liver don’t function properly due to pancreatitis or liver disease, you could experience low blood sugar, or hypoglycemia. But more recent research suggests there’s really no “safe” amount of alcohol since even moderate drinking can negatively impact brain health. Many people assume the occasional beer or glass of wine at mealtimes or special occasions doesn’t pose much cause for concern.