Open Access Review

Article DOI: 10.7759/cureus.30057

Effects of Alcohol Consumption on Various

Systems of the Human Body: A Systematic Review
Received 09/16/2022
Jerin Varghese 1 , Sarika Dakhode 2
Review began 09/20/2022
Review ended 09/30/2022 1. Medical School, Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College, Datta Meghe Institute of Medical Sciences, Wardha, IND 2.
Published 10/08/2022
Community Medicine, Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College, Datta Meghe Institute of Medical Sciences, Wardha, IND
© Copyright 2022
Varghese et al. This is an open access Corresponding author: Jerin Varghese, jerinazero@[Link]
article distributed under the terms of the
Creative Commons Attribution License CC-
BY 4.0., which permits unrestricted use,
distribution, and reproduction in any
medium, provided the original author and Abstract
source are credited.
Prolonged alcohol intake for many years has been known to cause serious ailments in human beings since
time memorial. Even after knowing that this dangerous addiction paves the way to one’s own grave, there
isn’t much difference in the way the community sees this deadly habit. Time and again history has proven
that this fatal addiction could make the life of those who consume it terrible. Also, the lives of the dear ones
of alcoholic people are affected as alcohol not only affects those who consume them but also kin and friends.
Various research studies conducted over many years clearly show the association of prolonged alcohol intake
in the causation, aggravation, worsening, and deterioration of the health of its consumers. Moreover,
chronic alcohol intake single-handedly is one of the major etiological factors in various serious diseases.

Categories: Preventive Medicine, Epidemiology/Public Health, Substance Use and Addiction

Keywords: various systems of human body, harmful effects, alcohol abuse, effects on general health, alcohol misuse

Introduction And Background

Through the ages, alcoholism has been undisputedly maintaining its position in the list of risk factors for
preventable diseases in the world. According to a WHO report, 5.3% of all deaths that occurred worldwide in
the year 2016 were because of harmful alcohol use [1]. It is the main culprit behind the advancing nature of
many chronic diseases. It drastically increases the severity of diseases and also makes the treatments less
effective. Alcohol not only affects the person physiologically, but it has many adverse effects psychologically
and socially too. Also, the habit of alcoholism leads to huge expenses [2]. Apart from systemic involvement,
which causes various clinical manifestations, there are certain signs and symptoms that are most of the
times non-specific and that as such don’t point out or say lead to a particular diagnosis, such as nausea,
agitation, vomiting, anxiety, diaphoresis, tremors, headache, visual hallucinations, tachycardia, seizures,
delirium, temperature elevation, etc. It is not always necessary that these mentioned signs and symptoms
are compulsorily linked with disease conditions.

Alcohol clearly plays a very important role in making many other diseases progress to their advanced stages.
It has been also noted that alcohol intake and its related disorders are often associated with many other
manifestations; for example, patients with alcoholic neuropathy often have associated nutritional
deficiencies. Recent studies have clearly proved that alcoholism is associated with many types of cancers too
and this understanding of alcoholism has spurred research minds all over the globe to find out the exact
pathophysiology behind the same. Alcohol is a very easily available source of addiction, which is one of the
main reasons why it remains a serious threat to the community. There is a huge variety that is available as
far as alcoholic drinks are concerned. Alcohol is also one of the cheaply accessible means of addiction; this
explains why alcoholism is so prevalent. A person may initially start consuming alcohol in very low amounts
most probably with just a desire to try it, but once he or she gets addicted, then getting rid of the habit
becomes extremely difficult. Even if a person is mentally resolute enough to quit alcoholism, his or her body,
which has been modified because of the chronic use of alcohol, won’t be up to the challenge anytime soon;
he or she has to overcome many hurdles put forward by the body, which could in an umbrella term be
referred to as alcohol withdrawal syndrome.

There are many social stigmas associated with alcohol intake. Most people get into this addiction by getting
inspired by the people whom they admire, like actors, celebrities, role models, etc. Also, exposure to the
sight of family members, relatives and friends drinking alcohol has a huge impact on one’s mindset as he or
she may take it to be something that is normal. In the long run, most of the time, even without their
realization, people get pathetically trapped in this dangerous fatal habit of alcoholism, which eventually
makes their lives pitiful in almost all aspects. Studies have shown that alcohol is also a key player in many
other domains too like accidents, suicide, depression, hallucinations, violence, memory disturbances, etc.

The main purpose of this review article is to enable any person reading this article to get a comprehensive
insight into the effects of alcohol on the various systems of the human body, and for the same, many
recognized research articles published in numerous well-acknowledged journals across the globe are
reviewed. The article is written using very basic and simple terminologies so that even a layperson who

How to cite this article

Varghese J, Dakhode S (October 08, 2022) Effects of Alcohol Consumption on Various Systems of the Human Body: A Systematic Review. Cureus
14(10): e30057. DOI 10.7759/cureus.30057
 reads it would be able to understand it. For the easy acceptability and understanding of the reader, the
discussion is written in such a way that almost every major system is reviewed one by one and the effect of
alcohol on these systems put forward in very simple language. The strategies used for the establishment of
this review article are summarised in Figure 1; these include considering research articles that have been
published in journals with are indexed in reputed platforms, segregating articles according to the different
systems, framing the review like a discussion section of an article where details are explained in simple and
straight forward sentences, etc.

FIGURE 1: A flowchart of the methodology used for the review

Review
Impact of alcohol on the central nervous system (CNS)
Alcohol exerts various effects on our CNS in various ways, the common ones being depression of the CNS,
destruction of the brain cells, contraction of the tissues of the brain, suppression of the excitatory nerve
pathway activity, neuronal injury, etc [3]. Alcohol’s impact on the functioning of the brain ranges from mild
and anxiolytic disinhibitory effects, motor incoordination, sedation, emesis, amnesia, hypnosis and
ultimately unconsciousness [4]. The synaptic transmission is heavily disturbed and altered by ethanol, and
the intrinsic excitability in various areas of the brain is also compromised. The effects of ethanol may be
pre-synaptic, post-synaptic, and at times, non-synaptic too. Alcohol being a psychotropic depressant of the
CNS exerts a deeply profound impact on the neurons, which alters the biological and behavioural well-being
of the one who consumes it by the promotion of interference in various neuronal pathways [5]. The
treatments of many disorders of the CNS are shown to be affected by the consumption of alcohol, and thus,
it is generally advised to keep oneself away from alcohol if one is undergoing treatment for any CNS
manifestations, like anxiety or mood disorders [6].

Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is chronic in nature and is characterized by uncontrolled drinking and also a
preoccupation with alcohol. The severity of AUD is a crucial factor in how it is going to affect the human
body. AUD can be mild, moderate, or severe according to the symptoms a person experiences. The clinical
manifestations of AUD include signs and symptoms such as inability to control the amount of alcohol intake,
spending a lot of time drinking, feeling an uncontrollable craving for alcohol, loss of interest in social
activities, failure to fulfil tasks within the time provided, etc. Most of the time, along with the person who
consumes alcohol, several other factors are also to be taken care of in order to effectively manage alcohol-
related health conditions. These factors can be social, environmental, genetic, psychological, etc, which
make a considerable impact on how alcohol affects the behaviour and body of those consuming it. Binge
drinking, i.e., drinking to such an extent on a single occasion that the blood alcohol concentration level
becomes 0.08% or more, is a very relevant aspect of alcohol intake, which has to be dealt with, with utmost
urgency. Certain research studies suggest that mild to moderate alcohol intake provides a certain sort of
protection against a few CNS disorders like dementia, ischemia of neurons, etc, but this in no way should
encourage the community in promoting alcohol intake as in reality, it is very difficult to remain within the
limits of mild to moderate alcohol intake, and thus, eventually, people do end up as full-time severe alcohol
abusers. Epilepsy, a seizure disorder caused by disturbed nerve cell activity in the brain, aggravates on
excessive alcohol intake as alcohol increases the frequency of seizures in patients of epilepsy [7]. The issue
becomes more severe in those epileptic patients who have refractory forms of epilepsy. As far as
comorbidities are concerned, a valid history of abuse of substances or alcohol dependence is believed to be
strongly associated with a high risk of sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP) [8]. Heavy alcohol

2022 Varghese et al. Cureus 14(10): e30057. DOI 10.7759/cureus.30057 2 of 6

 drinking over a long period of time has been found to have an intensely negative undesirable effect on the
autonomic nervous system too.

Impact of alcohol on the cardiovascular system (CVS)

Chronic alcohol intake is undoubtedly a very important risk factor as far as cardiovascular diseases are
concerned and several clinical trials do point out this fact. The results of several research studies conducted
in various settings clearly indicate that increased intake of alcohol has increased adverse effects on our heart
and its vasculature. Alcohol exerts its action on the cardiovascular system both directly and indirectly. Blood
pressure, a very vital player in the domain of cardiovascular diseases, is in turn itself affected by increased
alcohol consumption. Blood pressure gets increased on regular consumption of alcohol in a manner which is
dose-dependent, which in turn increases the risk of hypertension and eventually leads to various
cardiovascular complications. How exactly alcohol causes hypertension is still unclear with many
pathophysiological theories out there. Atrial fibrillation, one of the most common causes of arrhythmia, is
associated with the high-volume chronic intake of alcohol and above 14 g alcohol/day, the relative risk
dramatically increases by 10% for each extra standard drink (14 g ethanol) [9].

Cerebrovascular accidents are increased to a great extent at almost all levels of alcohol intake [10]. Alcohol
intake leads to both acute (depresses the cardiac function and also alters the blood flow of the involved
region) and chronic cardiovascular manifestations [11]. Alcohol abuse along with other associated factors is
one of the leading causes of secondary cardiomyopathy [12]. Cardiac arrhythmias get precipitated by alcohol
consumption, be it acute or chronic. Heavy alcohol drinking is shown to impact the cardiovascular system in
many ways, one of the most important among them being rebound hypertension [13]. Apart from congenital
disorders of the cardiovascular system, it indeed is a very well-evident fact, which could be understood from
the history of most of the patients diagnosed with cardiovascular disorders, that they used to consume a lot
of alcohol for many years.

Impact of alcohol on the digestive system

Chronic alcoholism is found to have a very strong relationship with both acute pancreatitis and chronic
pancreatitis. Chronic alcohol intake impairs the repair ability of the structures of the exocrine pancreas,
thereby leading to pancreatic dysfunctioning [14]. Most of the patients diagnosed with pancreatitis have a
strong history of chronic intake of alcohol. Liver diseases related to alcohol intake are known to humankind
from the very beginning and probably are one of the oldest known forms of injury to the liver [15]. In liver
diseases linked with alcohol, liver cirrhosis is a major concern. Statistics show that liver cirrhosis is one of
the top 10 causes of death worldwide and this in itself indicates the severity of the same [16]. The changing
lifestyle and also many people turning to prolonged alcohol intake for many years are contributing to the
increased number of liver cirrhosis patients in the modern world. In liver cirrhosis patients, there occurs an
increased severity of fibrosis due to the loss of parenchyma and fibrous scar proliferation [17]. Alcoholic liver
disease (ALD) is an umbrella term which incorporates a wide range of injuries of the liver, spanning from
simple steatosis to cirrhosis, and this also includes alcohol-related fatty liver disease (AFLD) and also
alcoholic hepatitis [18]. Advancements in the diagnostic modalities have helped to diagnose ALD at an early
phase and there is no doubt that newer and better investigations that have helped to detect more cases have
led to a surge in the number of ALD patients on whole. Alcohol intake has a prominently bigger impact on
the mortality of liver cirrhosis when compared with the morbidity [19]. A systemic review and meta-analysis
suggests that women might be at a higher risk as far as developing liver cirrhosis is concerned even with
little consumption of alcohol, as compared to men [20].

Impact of alcohol on the causation of cancer

Alcohol has much to do with cancers too and continuous research studies are conducted in order to find out
the relationship between the two in detail. In a meta-analysis, it was found that women consuming alcohol
had a later menopause onset, which is found to be associated with reduced cardiovascular disease risk and
also all-cause mortality, but unfortunately, the happiness of this advantage gets compromised by the ironic
fact that it has an increased risk of cancer (including ovarian and breast cancers) [21,22]. Large cohort
studies, many meta-analyses, experimental research studies, etc are suggestive of the fact that the chronic
intake of alcohol clearly increases colon and gastric cancer risk [23]. A causal association is also found
between alcohol intake and cancers of the rectum, colon, liver, oesophagus, larynx, pharynx and oral cavity
[24]. There are various theories put forward so as to understand the role of the consumption of alcohol in the
development of cancer; there is suspicion that the rise in the number of alcohol users worldwide may be one
of the reasons why the number of cancer patients is increasing at a global level. Chronic intake of alcohol
may promote the genesis of cancer in many ways, some of the most notable ones being acetaldehyde (weak
mutagen and carcinogen) production, cytochrome P450 2E1 induction associated oxidative stress, S-
adenosylmethionine depletion/ which leads to global DNA hypomethylation induction, iron induction
associated oxidative stress, retinoic acid metabolism impairment, etc [25].

Impact of alcohol on other systems

Apart from the systemic manifestations which do affect a particular system of the body, there are various
disorders in which alcohol indirectly provides its crucial contribution. It is a common finding that one could

2022 Varghese et al. Cureus 14(10): e30057. DOI 10.7759/cureus.30057 3 of 6

 perceive that alcohol is most of the time in the list of risk factors for various diseases. Alcohol has been
found to adversely affect our immune system and the matter of concern as far as this issue is concerned is
that immune responses are influenced by even moderate amounts of alcohol intake [26]. Alcohol affects
innate immunity and also interferes with almost all the various aspects of the adaptive immune response.
Alcohol is a key player in impairing anti-inflammatory cytokines and also promotes proinflammatory
immune responses. The gastrointestinal biome is severely manipulated by the use of alcohol over a long
period of time, which in turn is found to have a link with the establishment of various complications [27].
Alcohol and its metabolites are found to promote inflammation in the intestines and they do so through
varied pathways [28]. Alcohol being a teratogen is documented to cause abnormalities of the brain, limbs, etc
[29]. Multiple studies have been conducted across the globe to understand the effect of alcohol on humans;
implications from certain such studies are put forth in Table 1.

Author,
Country ( if
Serial Type of
Objectives of the study Implications applicable),
number study
Year
[citations]

To provide a quantitative assessment Systemic

Consumption of alcohol has a significantly large impact Rehm et al.,
of the association between the risk of review and
on the mortality of cirrhosis of the liver when compared July 2010
(1) cirrhosis of the liver and alcohol meta-
with morbidity. [19].
intake. analysis

To systematically sum up the risk Systemic

Consuming about one drink per day in comparison to Roerecke et
relationship between the incidence of review and
the long-term abstainers showed an increased risk in al., October
(2) liver cirrhosis and different alcohol meta-
women for liver cirrhosis, but not in men. 2019 [20].
consumption levels. analysis

Askgaard et
To analyse the impact of various A Recent alcohol consumption rather than earlier in life
al., Denmark,
drinking patterns in the causation of prospective was found to be associated with a risk of alcoholic
(3) May 2015
alcoholic cirrhosis of the liver. cohort study cirrhosis.
[30].

Pedersen et
To investigate the relationship
Alcoholic intake significantly increases the risk of rectal al.,
between the risk of colon and rectal
Cohort study cancer but this risk seems to be reduced with the Denmark,
(4) cancer and the amount and type of
inclusion of wine. June 2003
alcohol.
[31].

To examine the relationship between

A moderate wine intake does not probably increase the Grønbaek et
cancers of the upper digestive tract
risk of cancer of the upper digestive tract, whereas a al., Denmark,
(oesophageal and oropharyngeal) Cohort study
(5) moderate intake of spirits or beers considerably September
and different types of alcoholic drinks.
increases the risk. 1998 [32].

Grønbaek et
To examine the relationship between
Heavy drinkers who avoid wine are found to be at more al.,
death from all causes, coronary heart
Cohort study high risk for death from all causes than heavy drinkers Denmark,
(6) disease, and cancer and intake of
who do include wine in their alcohol intake. September
different alcohol types.
2000 [33].

The morbidity and mortality which is associated with Theobald et

To investigate the long-term effects of
different consumption levels of alcohol are associated al., Sweden,
the consumption of alcohol on Cohort study
(7) with the same diseases, which suggests that alcohol November
morbidity and mortality.
might be one of the causative factors for these diseases. 2001 [34].

Meta-
analysis of
To provide updated quantification of Showed evidence which strongly depicted an Wang et al.,
the
association between the intake of association between colorectal cancer risk and intake of May 2015
(8) published
alcohol intake and colorectal cancer. alcohol. [35].
observational
studies

Prospective
To investigate the association study and a Larsson et
between atrial fibrillation risk in a dose- Consumption of alcohol, even though at a moderate al., Sweden,
(9) prospective study of Swedish men response level, is one of the risk factors for atrial fibrillation. July 2014
and women and alcohol consumption. meta- [36].

2022 Varghese et al. Cureus 14(10): e30057. DOI 10.7759/cureus.30057 4 of 6

 analysis

Systemic Samokhvalov
To examine the dose-response There is a causal impact of the consumption of alcohol
review and et al.,
relationship between AF and on the onset of atrial fibrillation with a monotonic dose-
(10) meta- December
consumption of alcohol. response relationship.
analysis 2010 [37].

To investigate the effect of the

In a healthy asymptomatic population, alcoholic drinking
consumption of alcohol on new-onset Cha et al.,
Multicenter does increase the risk of new-onset atrial fibrillation in a
atrial fibrillation development in December
(11) study dose-dependent manner which is regardless of the
healthy individuals who are 2020 [38].
individual’s sex.
asymptomatic.

To prospectively assess the Conen et al.,

Heavy consumption of two or more drinks per day was
association between incident atrial Randomized U.S.,
found to be associated with a small but statistically
(12) fibrillation (AF) among women and control trial December
significant increased atrial fibrillation (AF) risk.
regular alcohol consumption. 2008 [39].

Systemic Gallagher et
To characterize the association
review and High intake of alcohol is associated with heightened al.,
between incident atrial fibrillation and
(13) meta- atrial fibrillation (AF) risk across both genders. November
chronic intake of alcohol.
analysis 2017 [40].

TABLE 1: Implications from various studies (sytemic review, meta-analysis, cohort study,
prospective study, etc) regarding effects of alcohol consumption on the human body

Conclusions
Alcohol seldom leaves any system untouched as far as leaving its impression is concerned, spanning from
single tissue involvement to complex organ system manifestations. Almost all the major organs that make
up a human’s physiological being are dramatically affected by the overconsumption of alcohol. There is an
enormous overall economic cost that is paid for alcohol abuse all over the world.

Additional Information
Disclosures
Conflicts of interest: In compliance with the ICMJE uniform disclosure form, all authors declare the
following: Payment/services info: All authors have declared that no financial support was received from
any organization for the submitted work. Financial relationships: All authors have declared that they have
no financial relationships at present or within the previous three years with any organizations that might
have an interest in the submitted work. Other relationships: All authors have declared that there are no
other relationships or activities that could appear to have influenced the submitted work.

References
1. Global status report on alcohol and health 2018 . Vladimir Poznyak and Dag Rekve (ed): World Health
Organization, Geneva; 2018.
2. Sacks JJ, Gonzales KR, Bouchery EE, Tomedi LE, Brewer RD: 2010 national and state costs of excessive
alcohol consumption. Am J Prev Med. 2015, 49:e73-9. 10.1016/[Link].2015.05.031
3. Mukherjee S: Alcoholism and its effects on the central nervous system . Curr Neurovasc Res. 2013, 10:256-
62. 10.2174/15672026113109990004
4. Harrison NL, Skelly MJ, Grosserode EK, Lowes DC, Zeric T, Phister S, Salling MC: Effects of acute alcohol on
excitability in the CNS. Neuropharmacology. 2017, 122:36-45. 10.1016/[Link].2017.04.007
5. Costardi JV, Nampo RA, Silva GL, Ribeiro MA, Stella HJ, Stella MB, Malheiros SV: A review on alcohol: from
the central action mechanism to chemical dependency. Rev Assoc Med Bras (1992). 2015, 61:381-7.
10.1590/1806-9282.61.04.381
6. Castaneda R, Sussman N, Westreich L, Levy R, O'Malley M: A review of the effects of moderate alcohol
intake on the treatment of anxiety and mood disorders. J Clin Psychiatry. 1996, 57:207-12.
7. Chan AW: Alcoholism and epilepsy. Epilepsia. 1985, 26:323-33. 10.1111/j.1528-1157.1985.tb05658.x
8. Sveinsson O, Andersson T, Mattsson P, Carlsson S, Tomson T: Clinical risk factors in SUDEP: A nationwide
population-based case-control study. Neurology. 2020, 94:e419-29. 10.1212/WNL.0000000000008741
9. Day E, Rudd JH: Alcohol use disorders and the heart . Addiction. 2019, 114:1670-8. 10.1111/add.14703
10. Rubin E: Cardiovascular effects of alcohol . Pharmacol Biochem Behav. 1980, 13 Suppl 1:37-40.
10.1016/s0091-3057(80)80006-2
11. Friedman HS: Cardiovascular effects of alcohol with particular reference to the heart . Alcohol. 1984, 1:333-
9. 10.1016/0741-8329(84)90057-0
12. Faintuch JJ: Repercurssões cardiovasculares do alcoolismo (Article in Portuguese) . Rev Hosp Clin Fac Med
Sao Paulo. 1995, 50:76-9.

2022 Varghese et al. Cureus 14(10): e30057. DOI 10.7759/cureus.30057 5 of 6

 13. Beilin LJ, Puddey IB, Burke V: Alcohol and hypertension--kill or cure?. J Hum Hypertens. 1996, 10 Suppl
2:S1-5.
14. Schneider KJ, Scheer M, Suhr M, Clemens DL: Ethanol administration impairs pancreatic repair after injury .
Pancreas. 2012, 41:1272-9. 10.1097/MPA.0b013e31824bde37
15. O'Shea RS, Dasarathy S, McCullough AJ: Alcoholic liver disease. Hepatology. 2010, 51:307-28.
10.1002/hep.23258
16. Global status report on alcohol and health 2018. (2018).
[Link]
17. Lackner C, Tiniakos D: Fibrosis and alcohol-related liver disease . J Hepatol. 2019, 70:294-304.
10.1016/[Link].2018.12.003
18. Méndez-Sánchez N, Almeda-Valdés P, Uribe M: Alcoholic liver disease. An update . Ann Hepatol. 2005, 4:32-
42.
19. Rehm J, Taylor B, Mohapatra S, Irving H, Baliunas D, Patra J, Roerecke M: Alcohol as a risk factor for liver
cirrhosis: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Drug Alcohol Rev. 2010, 29:437-45. 10.1111/j.1465-
3362.2009.00153.x
20. Roerecke M, Vafaei A, Hasan OS, et al.: Alcohol consumption and risk of liver cirrhosis: a systematic review
and meta-analysis. Am J Gastroenterol. 2019, 114:1574-86. 10.14309/ajg.0000000000000340
21. Taneri PE, Kiefte-de Jong JC, Bramer WM, Daan NM, Franco OH, Muka T: Association of alcohol
consumption with the onset of natural menopause: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Hum Reprod
Update. 2016, 22:516-28. 10.1093/humupd/dmw013
22. Gold EB: The timing of the age at which natural menopause occurs . Obstet Gynecol Clin North Am. 2011,
38:425-40. 10.1016/[Link].2011.05.002
23. Na HK, Lee JY: Molecular basis of alcohol-related gastric and colon cancer . Int J Mol Sci. 2017,
18:10.3390/ijms18061116
24. Boffetta P, Hashibe M: Alcohol and cancer. Lancet Oncol. 2006, 7:149-56. 10.1016/S1470-2045(06)70577-0
25. Purohit V, Khalsa J, Serrano J: Mechanisms of alcohol-associated cancers: introduction and summary of the
symposium. Alcohol. 2005, 35:155-60. 10.1016/[Link].2005.05.001
26. Szabo G, Saha B: Alcohol's effect on host defense . Alcohol Res. 2015, 37:159-70.
27. Engen PA, Green SJ, Voigt RM, Forsyth CB, Keshavarzian A: The gastrointestinal microbiome: alcohol
effects on the composition of intestinal microbiota. Alcohol Res. 2015, 37:223-36.
28. Bishehsari F, Magno E, Swanson G, Desai V, Voigt RM, Forsyth CB, Keshavarzian A: Alcohol and gut-derived
inflammation. Alcohol Res. 2017, 38:163-71.
29. Spagnolo A: Teratogenesis of alcohol. Ann Ist Super Sanita. 1993, 29:89-96.
30. Askgaard G, Grønbæk M, Kjær MS, Tjønneland A, Tolstrup JS: Alcohol drinking pattern and risk of alcoholic
liver cirrhosis: a prospective cohort study. J Hepatol. 2015, 62:1061-7. 10.1016/[Link].2014.12.005
31. Pedersen A, Johansen C, Grønbaek M: Relations between amount and type of alcohol and colon and rectal
cancer in a Danish population based cohort study. Gut. 2003, 52:861-7. 10.1136/gut.52.6.861
32. Grønbaek M, Becker U, Johansen D, Tønnesen H, Jensen G, Sørensen TI: Population based cohort study of
the association between alcohol intake and cancer of the upper digestive tract. BMJ. 1998, 317:844-7.
10.1136/bmj.317.7162.844
33. Grønbaek M, Becker U, Johansen D, et al.: Type of alcohol consumed and mortality from all causes, coronary
heart disease, and cancer. Ann Intern Med. 2000, 133:411-9. 10.7326/0003-4819-133-6-200009190-00008
34. Theobald H, Johansson SE, Bygren LO, Engfeldt P: The effects of alcohol consumption on mortality and
morbidity: a 26-year follow-up study. J Stud Alcohol. 2001, 62:783-9. 10.15288/jsa.2001.62.783
35. Wang Y, Duan H, Yang H, Lin J: A pooled analysis of alcohol intake and colorectal cancer . Int J Clin Exp
Med. 2015, 8:6878-89.
36. Larsson SC, Drca N, Wolk A: Alcohol consumption and risk of atrial fibrillation: a prospective study and
dose-response meta-analysis. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2014, 64:281-9. 10.1016/[Link].2014.03.048
37. Samokhvalov AV, Irving HM, Rehm J: Alcohol consumption as a risk factor for atrial fibrillation: a
systematic review and meta-analysis. Eur J Cardiovasc Prev Rehabil. 2010, 17:706-12.
10.1097/HJR.0b013e32833a1947
38. Cha MJ, Oh GC, Lee H, Park HE, Choi SY, Oh S: Alcohol consumption and risk of atrial fibrillation in
asymptomatic healthy adults. Heart Rhythm. 2020, 17:2086-92. 10.1016/[Link].2020.07.010
39. Conen D, Tedrow UB, Cook NR, Moorthy MV, Buring JE, Albert CM: Alcohol consumption and risk of
incident atrial fibrillation in women. JAMA. 2008, 300:2489-96. 10.1001/jama.2008.755
40. Gallagher C, Hendriks JM, Elliott AD, et al.: Alcohol and incident atrial fibrillation - A systematic review and
meta-analysis. Int J Cardiol. 2017, 246:46-52. 10.1016/[Link].2017.05.133

2022 Varghese et al. Cureus 14(10): e30057. DOI 10.7759/cureus.30057 6 of 6