Effect of alcohol consumption on kidney function: population-based cohort study PMC

Binge drinking, or drinking numerous drinks in just a few hours, can cause an acute kidney injury. If you have UPJ obstruction, you may have kidney pain after drinking alcohol. Liver disease makes you susceptible to pain or discomfort after drinking alcohol. The disease can also affect blood flow to the kidneys and cause them to be less effective in filtering blood. You may have kidney pain after drinking alcohol due to dehydration or inflammation of your stomach lining. But it can also happen if you have other health conditions, including a kidney infection.

• Ethyl alcohol and water are the main ingredients of alcohol beverages, but we cannot ignore other bioactivators in liquors, such as polyphenols.
• Future research will hopefully explore these hypotheses to provide a better understanding of alcoholic kidney injury.
• Normally the rate of blood flow, or perfusion, (i.e., hemodynamics) through the kidneys is tightly controlled, so that plasma can be filtered and substances the body needs can be reabsorbed under optimal circumstances (see sidebar).
• We analyzed and compared the advantages and disadvantages of alcohol consumption for patients with CKD and the contradictions in existing studies, and we hope to provide some information for clinical decision-making and policy formulation.
• Moderate alcohol consumption should not cause kidney pain, but various factors may lead to kidney pain after a high intake.

Alcohol risks: A body out of balance

Seeing a doctor as soon as possible helps ensure appropriate treatment and can reduce the risk of complications. It is the body’s way of warning of a potentially serious medical condition, so it is best not to ignore it. Kidney pain usually appears in the back, on either side of the spine, how does alcohol affect the kidneys just under the ribs. A person who experiences this type of pain, especially if it intensifies over hours or days, may have a serious illness and should speak to a doctor. See a doctor or therapist if you feel you’re dependent on alcohol or if it’s interfering with your life in some way.

1. Variables in Analyses

Globally, almost every 1 in 3 adults is hypertensive, with male prevalence slightly higher than females under 50 years age group. Beyond the age of 50, the prevalence reaches nearly 49%, or every 1 out of 2 individuals, with nearly equal prevalence among both men and women. The study adheres to the Declaration of Helsinki and received approval by the local institutional committee (CEAS-Umbria #2850/16). The Gubbio Study was made possible thanks to the enthusiasm of the people of the town of Gubbio and the support of its municipal and health authorities and community leaders.

Urinary tract infection

These changes in fluid volume, electrolyte balance, and blood pressure may have stimulated the activity of hormones to return body fluid volume and composition back to normal, which occurred soon after consumption. Clinical studies of hypertensive patients have demonstrated that reducing alcohol intake lowers blood pressure and resuming consumption raises it. Although the mechanisms responsible for these effects have not been established, an experimental study by Chan and Sutter (1983) offers some insight. In this study, male rats given 20-percent alcohol in their drinking water for 4 weeks experienced decreased urinary volume and sodium excretion as well as increased blood concentrations of hormones that raise blood pressure by constricting blood vessels. The results of this study suggest that alcohol’s influence on blood pressure may be attributable, at least in part, to its effects on the production of hormones that act on the kidneys to regulate fluid balance or that act on blood vessels to constrict them. The primary exposure was baseline total alcohol intake divided into four categories.

Considerations When Drinking Alcohol with Chronic Kidney Disease

A person who drinks alcohol can become dehydrated, increasing the risk of a UTI. Alcohol may indirectly increase the risk of developing a urinary tract infection (UTI). In this article, learn more about the causes of kidney pain and how they might be related to drinking alcohol. A kidney infection is a type of urinary tract infection (UTI) that starts in the urethra or bladder and moves to one or both kidneys.

• Studies historically have shown that alcohol consumption markedly increases magnesium excretion in the urine and may affect magnesium levels in other ways as well.
• Coconut water, apple cider vinegar drinks, and hot chocolate are great options.
• You can have a sports drink that has electrolytes and a carbohydrate solution.

Respiratory acidosis is rare but carries an ominous prognosis when it occurs. In the absence of ADH, segments of the kidney’s tubule system become impermeable to water, thus preventing it from being reabsorbed into the body. Under these conditions, the urine formed is dilute and electrolyte concentration in the blood simultaneously rises.

People with chronic kidney disease should not drink alcohol at all, and they can speak to a doctor for help with quitting if they are finding it challenging. One example of an alcohol-related acid-base disturbance already has been mentioned in relation to low levels of phosphate (i.e., respiratory alkalosis resulting from hyperventilation during alcohol withdrawal). Other acid-base disturbances are possible as a result of excessive alcohol consumption.

• Moreover, women with a lower activity of gastric alcohol dehydrogenase have lower gastric first-pass metabolism of alcohol, which also leads to a higher concentration of alcohol than in men [92].
• In response, reabsorption of phosphate diminishes and excretion in urine increases in an effort to return blood levels of this ion to normal.
• The change in eGFR from one exam to the subsequent one was expressed as annualized eGFR change, which is divided by the years of follow-up duration.
• A compromised diluting ability has important implications for the management of patients with advanced liver disease.
• Chronic or acute heart failure can lead to chronic or acute dysfunction in the kidneys, known as cardiorenal syndrome (Cleland et al. 2012).

Effects of Ethanol on the Kidneys

Although some exceptions exist, several historical studies have reported similar modest reductions in sodium and potassium excretion following alcohol use. A cell’s function depends not only on receiving a continuous supply of nutrients and eliminating metabolic waste products but also on the existence of stable physical and chemical conditions in the extracellular fluid1 bathing it. Among the most important substances contributing to these conditions are water, sodium, potassium, calcium, and phosphate. Loss or retention of any one of these substances can influence the body’s handling of the others. In addition, hydrogen ion concentration (i.e., acid-base balance) influences cell structure and permeability as well as the rate of metabolic reactions.

Kidney Structure and Function