Lung conditions linked to alcohol include pneumonia, tuberculosis and acute respiratory distress syndrome, according to the NIAAA. “It is anticipated that binge drinking will weaken the immune system’s response to Covid-19,” Sarkar says. Addressing mental health alongside substance abuse treatment becomes crucial when considering interventions aimed at improving both psychological well-being while restoring physiological functions such as maintaining healthy levels of WBCs within individuals recovering from alcoholism or related SUDs. The frequency at which a person drinks also determines how much it affects the immune system. A person who drinks every day is more likely to have a weakened immune system and experience health complications than someone who rarely drinks or only drinks on occasion. Having a fully functioning immune system is crucial to successful chemotherapy treatment, so a person’s body may not handle or react to conventional chemotherapy as well if they drink alcohol.
Are there any immediate effects on white blood count after drinking alcohol?
All of these studies demonstrate that ethanol interferes with normal thymocyte function and maturation into T cells in a variety of ways. Alcohol can have a detrimental impact on gut bacteria, which play a crucial role in maintaining a healthy immune system. When alcohol is consumed, it affects the structure and properties of the stomach lining as it is absorbed. Research indicates that individuals who consume more than 1-2 drinks per day have less diverse and less healthy gut bacteria compared to those who drink less. This imbalance in gut flora can have adverse effects on both digestion and immune function. Excessive alcohol consumption can lead to a wide range of serious health issues, including an increased risk of high blood pressure, heart disease, liver disease, and certain cancers.
Conclusion – Can Alcohol Lower White Blood Cell Count?
In addition, such studies could reveal the pathways that are modified by moderate alcohol consumption to enhance immune response to vaccination. Studies over the last 30 years have clearly demonstrated that chronic ethanol abuse impairs the functions of both T cells and B cells. Chronic alcohol consumption results in lymphopenia with a loss in circulating T cells and B cells. The decrease in T cells is accompanied by increased homeostatic proliferation, which in turn leads to increased T-cell differentiation, activation, and conversion to the memory phenotype. Impairment in T-cell recruitment also was observed in mouse models of chronic alcohol exposure. Despite what is alcoholism reduced B-cell numbers, people with AUD exhibit increased serum concentration of IgA, IgG, and IgE.
Alcohol distracts the body from other functions
Still, the evidence is more robust for considering how much you’re drinking, rather than what you’re drinking. Experts suggest sticking to serving sizes and reflecting why you want that drink in the first place. Alcohol use can cause respiratory complications such as pneumonia, empyema, respiratory syncytial virus, tuberculosis, lung abscess, and adult respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). That said, evidence also shows that even smaller amounts of alcohol can affect the immune system. When the body is unable to clear a pathogen, an infection can worsen and lead to more severe, life threatening complications.
- Recent studies have shown that the microbiome modulates immunity in the gut, and in turn, immunity modulates the microbiome in the gut (Belkaid and Hand 2014).
- Studies in rodents found that chronic alcohol feeding can impair presentation of protein antigens in the spleen (Mikszta et al. 1995).
- This is significant because a healthy gut plays a crucial role in regulating the immune system and can help prevent the overgrowth of harmful bacteria.
- Those with slower metabolism rates might experience more pronounced negative impacts on their immune systems compared to fast metabolizers when consuming similar amounts of alcohol.
Those with slower metabolism rates might experience more pronounced negative impacts on their immune systems compared to fast metabolizers when consuming similar amounts of alcohol. If you drink twice or week or less and only drink two to three drinks per occasion, your immune system may not be at a high risk of damage. If you find it challenging to limit or stop your alcohol intake, it may be time to seek help for alcohol addiction.
Another study conducted in humans with self-reported average alcohol consumption of approximately 400 g/day also found an increase in the percentage of both CD45RO+ memory CD4 cells and CD8 cells (Cook et al. 1995). Thus, studies in C57BL/6 mice demonstrated that chronic ethanol consumption (20 percent ethanol in water for up to 6 months) decreased the frequency of naïve T cells and increased the percentage of memory T cells (Song et al. 2002; Zhang and Meadows 2005). This loss of naïve T cells could result from decreased T-cell production in the thymus; increased cell death (i.e., apoptosis) of naïve T cells; or increased homeostatic proliferation. Additional analyses detected evidence that T-cell proliferation in the spleen was increased in alcohol-consuming mice (Zhang and Meadows 2005). Together, these observations does drinking lower immune system suggest that chronic alcohol consumption results in lymphopenia, which can increase homeostatic proliferation and accelerate conversion of naïve T cells into memory T cells (Cho et al. 2000). Another aspect of cell-mediated immunity that is affected by ethanol consumption is the delayed-type hypersensitivity (DTH) response.
- For some, especially those who have developed a pattern of heavy drinking, alcohol use disorder may be the underlying issue.
- “Alcohol intake can kill normal healthy gut bacteria, which help to promote health and reduce risk of infection,” Mroszczyk-McDonald said.
- In the lungs, for example, alcohol damages the immune cells and fine hairs that have the important job of clearing pathogens out of our airway.