How Alcohol Affects Your Kidney Health

By February 3, 2021November 29th, 2024Sober living

alcohol and kidneys

In the kidneys, ROS is generated via both enzymatic and non-enzymatic processes 22,23,27,32,36,37. In addition, Das et al. reported that alcohol consumption impairs the ability of CAT to catalyze the decomposition of H2O2 in the kidneys 41. This subsequently promotes the conversion of H2O2 to the more reactive hydroxyl radicals, which cause damage in antioxidant capacities and mitochondria in renal cells 34,42,43. Samadi et al. also suggested that ethanol induces depression of nephrin and podocin in podocytes, which contributes to renal injury and proteinuria and is mediated by oxidative stress 44. Ethanol administration in rats showed particular alterations in the renal antioxidant system and glutathione status 4,5. Polyphenols, which are found in beverages, such as red wine, also have antioxidant effects 6,7.

alcohol and kidneys

Drinking alcohol with kidney disease

The World Health Organization estimates that more than 55% of adults consume alcohol, and 140 million people worldwide have alcoholism 1,2. In fact, alcoholism is a serious problem in Asia, where 10.6–23.67% of men and 1.84–5.3% of women have a history of excessive alcohol consumption 3–9. However, it is important to note that alcohol-induced kidney damage may not always cause kidney pain.

Oxidative damage after chronic ethanol administration

Thus, current alcohol consumers can continue to enjoy light-to-moderate drinking and benefit from it. However, as alcohol consumption can lead to adverse events, such as hypertension, cerebral hemorrhage, alcohol addiction, and tendencies toward violence, clinicians should not advise non-drinkers to start drinking. Second, the proteinuria detection and diagnosis of CKD can also affect the credibility of the conclusion. In most studies, proteinuria was detected by a single measurement using a dipstick test. Although studies have proven that even a single dipstick indication of proteinuria is a significant risk for CKD and ESRD 122, a single dipstick detection can be biased by numerous confounders. In other studies, the researchers used serum creatinine or eGFR to ascertain the kidney function of patients; however, they are not ideal in many drinkers, especially in those with extremely low or high muscle mass due to chronic alcoholism 123.

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Whereas AKI tends to resolve with time, CKD tommy lee sober may worsen over time — although some individuals are able to stay relatively stable with CKD with close monitoring and lifestyle changes, such as quitting alcohol. People with alcohol-induced CKD will require treatment for AUD as well as CKD. According to the NKF, individuals who have sustained an alcohol-induced AKI may require dialysis, depending on severity. Dialysis is a procedure that involves filtering waste products and excess fluid from the blood.

  1. More than two drinks a day can increase your chance of having high blood pressure.
  2. A Japanese cohort study also found that CKD is an independent risk factor for higher rates of stroke in men and women.
  3. Although light-to-moderate alcohol consumption may not pose a risk to patients with CKD, the patients’ condition needs to be considered.
  4. As noted above, there is much to learn about alcoholic kidney disease and the complex interplay among multiple organs affected by alcohol consumption.
  5. If you have UPJ obstruction, you may have kidney pain after drinking alcohol.
  6. This is not an easy change to make; drinking can be habit-forming, especially if there is a family history of alcoholism or mental health elements, such as stress or depression, that make dependence on alcohol likely.

If you have specific concerns about alcohol and your kidney health, it’s best to get personal medical care. Our team of experienced, compassionate urologists are here to assist you. There are no specific studies suggesting that certain types of alcohol are worse on the kidneys than others. They filter waste from your blood, regulate the balance of water and minerals in your body and produce hormones. Relapse by day 90 occurred in 13.4% of the fixed dose group and 12.6% of the tapering dose group. Hospitalization within 90 days was required in 44.1% of the fixed dose group and 33.1% of the tapering dose group.

However, it is possible that activation of the innate immune system due to endotoxins released by a leaky gut plays a central role in the development of renal damage, as it does for liver damage (Zhang et al. 2008). Regular, heavy alcohol use can also be harmful to your kidneys over time. According to the National Kidney Foundation, regular heavy drinking can double the risk of chronic kidney disease. One reason alcohol may affect the kidneys is through acute kidney injury. This may result from high levels of toxins leading to tissue injury and inflammation. Kidney pain after drinking alcohol may occur due to acute kidney injury or an infection.

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. NO is a free gaseous signal molecule produced by the NOS family, including neuronal NO synthase (nNOS), inducible NO synthase (iNOS), and endothelial NO synthase (eNOS), and it plays an important role in hemodynamics regulation. In general, NO is generated by mesangial cells and renal tubular epithelial cells, and it plays an important role in the regulation of glomerular and medullar hemodynamics and renin release. Although different studies have shown opposite results for the effects of NO and NOS activity with alcohol consumption 19,39,46,47, they came to a similar conclusion that NO and NOS play important roles in glomerular endothelial cell injury. In addition, long-term alcohol consumption decreases prostaglandin E2 in the kidney, which can release anti-inflammatory cytokines and dilate the afferent arteriole to increase glomerular blood flow, which causes kidney dysfunction and glomerular destruction 24.

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