Effect of alcohol consumption on kidney function: population-based cohort study Scientific Reports

Many patients with CKD often have other comorbidities, such as diabetes, coronary heart disease, stroke, and other serious chronic diseases. For these patients, drinking alcohol may further increase their risk of death. In addition, alcohol consumption can contribute to volume overload, hypertension, and electrolyte disorder between hemodialysis sessions in hemodialysis patients, which also should not be ignored. So, alcohol consumption can be a double-edged sword for patients with CKD, and any policy regarding alcohol consumption for them must be very cautious. Abstinence is one of the characteristics of human drinking habits; many doctors will encourage patients to stop drinking, which may be good for their health [121].

Alcohol and Liver Effects: What’s Reversible vs. Permanent?

The underlying mechanisms involved in the development and progression of HRS are incompletely understood, although it is plausible that the altered balance between vasoconstrictor and vasodilator factors plays a significant role (Lenz 2005). Drinking is a complex social activity, and the results of many studies on the effect of alcohol consumption on CKD may be affected by many confounding factors. This makes it difficult for us to obtain reliable evidence to support our conclusions. More clinical and experimental studies are needed to confirm the effect of alcohol consumption on CKD. Additionally, the drinking pattern, integral dose of alcohol consumption, differences in alcohol beverages, and various concomitant factors should be considered, as they have a significant influence on the effects of alcohol consumption.

Symptoms of alcohol-related liver disease (ARLD)

Some studies found that ethanol has an influence on renal damage, such as apoptosis and epithelial mesenchymal transdifferentiation. This indicates that long-term ethyl alcohol consumption can activate both intrinsic and extrinsic pathways of apoptosis in the kidneys (Figure 1). However, other studies found that long-term alcohol consumption aggravates renal fibrosis, which may be related to epithelial mesenchymal transdifferentiation and fibrosis induced by ethanol [33,47,56]. If excessive alcohol consumption continues, inflammation levels can begin to increase in the liver. Alcohol affects the kidneys’ ability to keep the correct balance of water and electrolytes in the body.

• In some cases, vast amounts of abdominal fluid may collect, occasionally more than 7 gallons (Epstein 1996).
• If an acute alcoholic binge induces extensive vomiting, potentially severe alkalosis may result from losses of fluid, salt, and stomach acid.
• This pain may be felt as a sudden, sharp, stabbing pain or more of a dull ache.
• If you drink every day, or almost every day, you might notice that you catch colds, flu or other illnesses more frequently than people who don’t drink.
• 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.

Oxidative damage after chronic ethanol administration

• Hydronephrosis is the result of one or two swollen kidneys due to an accumulation of urine.
• Moreover, women with a lower activity of gastric alcohol dehydrogenase have lower gastric first-pass metabolism of alcohol, which also leads to a higher concentration of alcohol than in men [92].
• 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.
• The investigators noted increased plasma and extracellular fluid volume 1 week after chronic alcohol ingestion, and these volume expansions persisted for the remaining 7 weeks of the study.

Third, in most studies, patients’ alcohol consumption data were obtained by a fixed self-administered questionnaire, and this method lacks quantitative measurement. This self-report is susceptible to under-reporting and underestimates the patients’ alcohol consumption [12,13,117]. Genetic and individual differences sometimes need to be taken into account [78]. As known, alcohol tolerance varies greatly from person to person, and some nations consume more alcohol than others. One standard drink is equivalent to 12 ounces of beer, five ounces of wine or 1.5 ounces of spirits.

It is possible that the contradictory findings are the result of varying effects of different types of alcoholic beverages on the kidney, or the result of different alcohol consumption patterns in different countries. Chronic alcohol consumption induces profound injury in several organs that may affect and aggravate the deleterious effect of ethanol on the kidney. Ethanol itself markedly induces the expression of the microsomal ethanol oxidation system (CYP2E1), producing reactive oxygen species as a byproduct.

If you do have symptoms, they may include pain or discomfort in the upper right side of your abdomen, fatigue, or unexplained weight loss. For these reasons, it’s natural that when your kidneys have to work extra hard to rid the body of excess alcohol, you may experience pain. Frequent urination that goes along with this flushing of the system can lead to dehydration. This can interfere with the functioning of the kidneys and other organs. When your liver isn’t functioning well, it can impair blood flow to your kidneys. “Liver disease can have significant impacts on the kidneys,” says Dr. Bobart.

Alcohol Consumption Can be a “Double-Edged Sword” for Chronic Kidney Disease Patients

Medications and lifestyle modifications may also be prescribed depending on the stage. Alcoholic liver disease (ALD) is caused by excessive alcohol consumption, which is defined as five or more drinks in a day or 15 or more drinks a week for men, and four or more drinks a day or eight or more drinks a week for women. A 2021 review of studies in the journal Alcohol Research reported that one month of abstinence can return LFTs to normal levels even in people who previously consumed 258 g of alcohol per week. While this may not reverse cirrhosis, it can go a long way toward slowing disease progression and reducing the risk of liver cancer or liver failure. Several epidemiological studies have shown that mild alcohol consumption benefits cardiovascular health (Coate 1993; Kannel and Ellison 1996) by reducing the risk of coronary heart disease (Mukamal et al. 2006). In contrast, heavy drinking leads to the development of nonischemic dilated cardiomyopathy (Klatsky 2007) and significantly increases the risk of sudden cardiac death (Hookana et al. 2011).

How much alcohol can I safely drink?

You may be able to treat small kidney stones by increasing your water intake, taking medication, or using home remedies. 2The terms “alcoholic patient” and “alcoholism” as used in this article are summary terms for the diagnoses of alcohol abuse and alcohol dependence as defined variously by the studies cited. Lifestyle changes, like losing weight if you have overweight or obesity, how does alcohol affect the kidneys can often treat both conditions. Your doctor may also recommend taking medications to help manage one or both conditions. If symptoms do appear, they might include tiredness or pain in the upper right of your abdomen. It’s always wise to check with your doctor or dietitian before incorporating alcohol into your diet and it is recommended that you combine your alcohol with food.

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