How Alcohol Affects Each Part of the Body

Understanding Alcohol’s Impact on Internal Organs

 

According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), heavy alcohol consumption can negatively impact nearly every part of your body. Eventually, prolonged, heavy alcohol use can cause liver failure or death. It is important to seek help immediately if you have an unhealthy relationship with alcohol or are unable to stop drinking.

The NIAAA has identified the following ways that heavy alcohol consumption can affect your organs:

  • Brain – affects the way the brain works and interferes with communication pathways. May make it difficult to think clearly and can impact coordination.

  • Heart – may cause cardiomyopathy, arrhythmias (irregular heartbeat), stroke, and high blood pressure.

  • Liver – can lead to alcohol liver failure as well as fatty liver, alcoholic hepatitis, fibrosis, or cirrhosis.

  • Pancreas – can produce toxic substances that may lead to pancreatitis.

  • Cancer – has been linked to an increased risk of cancer. Heavy drinking may increase a person’s risk of head and neck cancer including cancers of the “oral cavity (excluding the lips), pharynx (throat), and larynx (voice box).” Alcohol may also increase a person’s risk for esophageal cancer, liver cancer, breast cancer, and colorectal cancer.

  • Immune system – alcohol may weaken a person’s immune system making it more likely that they could contract diseases such as pneumonia and tuberculosis.

Whether it is a single event of binge drinking or heavy alcohol use over a period of time, there can be long-lasting health problems. Alcohol can take a toll on people of every age. For college students, alcohol use has been linked to an increased risk of death, assault, sexual assault, and academic problems. For older adults, there are some studies that show alcohol may put a person at greater risk for dementia and other problems.