Alcohol’s effects on gastrointestinal health

Alcohol intake could be linked to increased gastrointestinal disease incidence and mortality.

In a review published in the Journal of Translational Gastroenterology, investigators, discovered that more than 50% of alcohol-related deaths were correlated with gastrointestinal diseases — most commonly, liver cirrhosis, pancreatitis and esophageal cancer. They hypothesized that one of the main metabolic products of chronic alcohol consumption, acetaldehyde, may cause pathologic changes in the digestive system, thereby increasing the risk of morbidity. Factors such as dose, duration of abuse, genetic predisposition, environmental factors, gender and nutritional status may impact the degree of damage resultant from alcohol. For instance, individuals who consumed more than 30 grams of alcohol per day for at least 10 years had an elevated risk of developing alcoholic liver disease and cirrhosis. Further, women had higher blood alcohol levels after consuming similar doses of alcohol as men, suggesting a greater susceptibility to alcohol-related damage among women.

The investigators revealed that alcohol consumption raised the risk of diseases of the oral cavity (stomatitis and periodontal disease), esophagus (gastroesophageal reflux disease and Barrett’s esophagus), stomach (superficial gastritis and hemorrhagic gastritis), intestines (dysbiosis and malabsorption), pancreas (acute and chronic pancreatitis) and gallbladder (gallstones and cholecystitis).

The findings indicated that individuals should maintain minimal alcohol intake. Those with persistent gastrointestinal symptoms were advised to seek immediate medical attention.

Read more: Journal of Translational Gastroenterology

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