Long Term Effects of Alcohol on Your Body

Alcoholism has reached epidemic proportions the world over. Over consumption of alcohol is one of the leading preventable causes of death in the world. In fact, excessive alcohol consumption is the 3rd leading lifestyle related cause of death in the United States on a yearly basis. There are many long term effects of alcohol on your body that you need to beware of. The adverse effects of long term use of alcohol, that is, chronic alcoholism are similar to those seen in the case of other sedative hypnotic drugs. Given below are details regarding the negative effects of alcohol on your body according to the organs and systems affected.

Effects of Alcohol on the Human Body

Nervous System
Chronic consumption of alcohol leads to impairment of brain growth and function. One of the long term effects of alcohol on your body is that it can lead to brain shrinkage, dementia, physical dependence and an alarming increase in neuropsychiatric and cognitive disorders, especially in cases of alcohol addiction. Inability in retrieval of verbal and nonverbal information and in visuospatial functioning was seen in youths who had a history of heavy drinking during early and middle adolescence. Heavy alcohol consumption basically interferes with the development of new cells in the brain. In fact, one of the organs most sensitive to the toxic effects of chronic alcohol consumption is the brain and the nervous system. Chronic consumption of alcohol can also lead to insomnia. There are high chances of a person landing with major depressive disorders due to alcohol abuse. One of the harmful effects of alcohol on your body is that it leads to Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome, which is a condition wherein there is deficiency of thiamine in the body. In this condition, there is Wernicke's encephalopathy and Korsakoff's psychosis. Hallucinations and delusions may also occur in cases where people have been chronic drinkers.

Cardiovascular System
Although many people claim that one of the short term effects of alcohol on your body is that it makes the heart stronger, this is a highly disputed fact. Scientists that claim this is a wrong finding blame statistical analysis as the basis for this statement. One of the long term effects of alcohol on your body is that it is associated with an increased risk of suffering from a stroke. Also, binge drinking over a period of time can lead to a condition known as alcoholic cardiomyopathy. In this condition, there is hypertrophy of the musculature of the heart which leads to cardiac arrhythmia or ventricular tachycardia. Also, it is often seen that alcoholics tend to suffer from anemia, thrombocytopenia and hypersplenism. One of the effects of alcohol on blood pressure is to cause a slight increase in the blood pressure.

Digestive System
The use of alcohol increases the risk of chronic gastritis in a person. Also, one of the long term effects of alcohol on your body includes the development of liver cirrhosis, hepatitis and pancreatitis. In fact, alcoholic liver disease is a major problem that affects up to two million people in the United States. One of the effects of alcohol on the liver includes the development of fatty liver and alcoholic hepatitis. In severe cases, the liver may be irreversibly damaged, due to which the person may need a liver transplant. Acute and chronic pancreatitis and malabsorption may also be seen as one of the long term effects of alcohol on your body.

Other Systems
Alcohol tends to affect the entire body, although it has a greater effect on the nervous system or the cardiovascular system. Alcoholic lung disease is a complication of long term alcohol abuse. In this condition, multiple cellular impairments are seen in the lung which can even lead to acute respiratory distress syndrome. Long term abuse of alcohol also tends to lead to impotence in men and loss of sexual desire. Also, drinking high amounts of alcohol can lead to a condition known as hyperestrogenization. Due to this, there may be testicular failure and gynecomastia in males. In women, this can lead to a predisposition to breast cancer. Also, one of the long term effects of alcohol on your body includes the development of gouty arthritis and osteoporosis. There are many skin disorders that may occur as a result of excess ingestion of alcohol, like urticaria, porphyria, flushing, psoriasis, pruritis, etc. Lastly, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (Centre International de Recherche sur le Cancer) of the World Health Organization has classified alcohol as a carcinogen (cancer causing agent). In fact, 3.6% of all cancer cases worldwide are related to excessive alcohol drinking.

These were the various long term effects of alcohol on your body. It is important to understand the mortality rates associated with alcohol are alarmingly high worldwide. Also, the so-called benefits of mild to moderate consumption of alcohol, which are the short term effects of alcohol are far outweighed by the negative effects of alcohol on the human body if consumed in large amounts. Hence, it is best to try to abstain from alcohol as much as possible to ensure that a person has a long and healthy life.