Alcohol and Its Negative Influences on Health

543 Words3 Pages
Alcohol consumption dates back to thousands of years, and drinking alcohol, moderate or extreme can affect an individual’s health in varied ways. Studies have shown that drinking excessive alcohol and it’s dependence, is more concerning on an individual’s health when compared to its benefits. In 2005, approximately 2.5 million people died annually from consuming alcohol around the world, according to a report by Global Information System on Alcohol and Health (GISAH). There are about 60 diseases linked to alcoholism (alcohol dependence). This report further elaborates the most common but fatal diseases on human body due to excessive alcohol intake. One of the diseases linked to excessive alcohol drinking is liver fibrosis that ultimately results in liver cirrhosis. In both these cases, the normal structure and function of the liver is altered by excessive disposition of extracellular matrix in liver. The liver looses its capability to perform its primary function: detoxification, which leads to further complications in a human body. Because of active cirrhosis, individuals are more susceptible to deadly infections such as hepatitis (Jamal & Morgan, 2003). According to a report by World Health Organization (2011) approximately one in ten individual died due to liver cirrhosis every year from 2000 to 2003. Furthermore, alcohol consumption also alters and diminishes immune response by targeting cytokines, their production and metabolism. Cytokines are multifunctional proteins that help cell communication and activation in human body. They impact different tissues in a number of ways to regulate inflammation, cell death, cell proliferation and migration. Altered levels of cytokines in lungs leads to respiratory distress syndrome, and in brain, it is likely to be associated with behavioral changes and neuro-degeneration (Crews, Bechara, Brown, Guidot, Mandrekar,

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