July 11, 2003, Newsletter Issue #145: Alcohol Awareness
Tip of the Week
Heavy and chronic drinking can harm virtually every organ and system in the body.
It is the single most important cause of illness and death from liver disease (alcoholic hepatitis and cirrhosis).
It is associated with cardiovascular diseases such as cardiomyopathy, hypertension, arrhythmias, and stroke.
It contributes to approximately 65% of all cases of pancreatitis.
It depresses the immune system and results in a predisposition to infectious diseases, including respiratory infections, pneumonia, and tuberculosis.
It increases risk for cancer, with an estimated 2-4% of all cancer cases thought to be caused either directly or indirectly by alcohol. The strongest link between alcohol and cancer involves cancers of the upper digestive tract, including the esophagus, the mouth, the pharynx, and the larynx. Less consistent data link alcohol consumption and cancers of the liver, breast and colon.
It can lead to inadequate functioning of the testes and ovaries, resulting in hormonal deficiencies, sexual dysfunction, infertility, early menopause and menstrual irregularities.
Each year 4,000 to 12,000 babies are born with the physical signs and intellectual disabilities associated with FAS (Fetal Alcohol Syndrome), and thousands more experience the somewhat lesser disabilities of fetal alcohol effects.
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