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

In fact, IgA glomerulonephritis—acute inflammation of the kidney caused by an IgA immune response—is one of the most common types of primary glomerulonephritis worldwide (D’Amico 1987). This IgA-related kidney disease leads to clinical symptoms of renal injury and eventually progresses into renal failure (Amore et al. 1994; Bene et al. 1988; Pouria and Feehally 1999). Experimental studies suggest that heavy alcohol consumption induces IgA kidney disease (Smith et al. 1990).

Kidney injury secondary to alcohol hepatitis, cirrhosis, and other conditions

• Some medicines, both prescription and over-the-counter, may interact with alcohol.
• In addition, Iwatsuki and colleagues (1973) and Gonwa and Wilkinson (1996) documented the return of normal kidney function in hepatorenal syndrome patients who receive liver transplants.
• Your doctor may prescribe kidney medication or recommend programs in your area to help you.
• The total habitual alcohol intake as g/day at each exam was calculated as the rounded sum of the habitual intake of alcohol of the four types of beverages.
• This was assessed by measuring the change in the estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) calculated by subtracting the baseline eGFR from the eGFR at the sixth phase of follow-up.
• However, previous studies have not revealed beverage-specific associations [28].

For example, Belliere and colleagues (2015) showed a link between rhabdomyolysis and excessive macrophage infiltration in the kidney, which in turn led to pro-inflammatory marker expression and consequent tissue injury (Belliere et al. 2015). Another study by Plotnikov and colleagues (2009) showed that mitochondria isolated from rat kidneys were damaged by oxidative stress when incubated with myoglobin. This finding suggests that rhabdomyolysis and myoglobin toxicity may trigger oxidative stress in the kidney via mitochondrial injury.

Association of monthly frequency of alcohol consumption and binge drinking with change in the eGFR over 12 years

These are signs that the kidneys are not working as they should, and they can be symptoms of acute kidney injury due to a high alcohol consumption. 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.

3. Longitudinal Analyses on eGFR

Drinking alcohol heavily can have several long-term health consequences including type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure. This doubles your risk of developing chronic kidney disease or long-term kidney damage. Hepatorenal syndrome may appear in patients afflicted with any severe liver disease, but in the United States, studies most often have identified alcoholic cirrhosis as the underlying disorder. Major clinical features of hepatorenal syndrome include a marked decrease in urine flow, almost no sodium excretion and, how does alcohol affect the kidneys usually, hyponatremia and ascites. Blood urea nitrogen (BUN) levels and serum concentrations of the waste product creatinine are somewhat elevated, but rarely to the degree seen in patients with end-stage kidney failure when kidney disease is the primary disorder. Judgments based on such relatively modest BUN and serum creatinine increases often underestimate kidney dysfunction in patients with hepatorenal syndrome, however, because malnourished cirrhotic patients tend to have low levels of urea and creatinine.

Abnormal immunoreaction and renal tubular dysfunction to alcohol consumption

A blockage or obstruction prevents urine from properly draining from the kidney to the bladder. 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]. However, we should be aware that alcohol also can contain harmful substances.

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Alcohol also affects the ability to regulate fluid and electrolytes in the body. When alcohol dehydrates (dries out) the body, the drying effect can affect the normal function of cells and organs, including the kidneys. The mortality-corrected response rate was 75.7% at Exam-2 and 82.5% at Exam-3. Of the 2075 participants in all exams, 6 were excluded due to missing data at Exam-2 and/or Exam-3.

The combination of low phosphate excretion and low blood levels indicates that phosphate is simply being shifted from the bloodstream into body cells, implying that kidney dysfunction is not a likely cause of phosphate wasting in this case. Alcohol can produce urine flow within 20 minutes of consumption; as a result of urinary fluid losses, the concentration of electrolytes in blood serum increases. These changes can be profound in chronic alcoholic patients, who may demonstrate clinical evidence of dehydration. Another study with dogs (Beard et al. 1965) disclosed that the effects of chronic alcohol consumption endured even longer.

Half among those with high blood pressure were unaware of their condition and only less than half of those on treatment had their condition under control. As for covariates, body mass index was calculated as weight/height2; 24 h urinary creatinine was estimated as reported [39]. Diabetes was defined as the use of regular anti-diabetic treatment and/or as serum glucose ≥ 11.1 mmol/L at Exam-1 (blood withdrawal after fast of at least two hours) or ≥ 7.0 mmol/L at Exam-2 and Exam-3 (blood withdrawal after overnight fast). For people with kidney disease who are having dialysis or on a low-potassium and/or low-phosphate diet, alcohol can be particularly challenging. Kidney dietitian Nick McAleer from Royal Devon and Exeter NHS Foundation Trust offers advice about choosing drinks. Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is a substantial public health problem, affecting 15.7 million people age 12 and older in the United States (Center for Behavioral Health Statistics and Quality 2016).

• Chronic alcohol consumption induces profound injury in several organs that may affect and aggravate the deleterious effect of ethanol on the kidney.
• Age, primary diseases, initial eGFR, and individual differences can also affect the prognosis of patients with CKD and interfere with the effects of alcohol on the kidneys [7,10,67,94].
• These include anthocyanins, which are the main polyphenols in red grapes, and resveratrol, which is the most famous polyphenolic compound found in red wine [104].
• In many patients with liver cirrhosis, the kidneys’ ability to create dilute urine is compromised, leading to a state of abnormally low sodium concentration (i.e., hyponatremia).