Alcohol Consumption and Risk of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: A Prospective Cohort Study of Men

It refers to a group of respiratory illnesses that cause breathing problems and airflow blockages, including emphysema, chronic bronchitis, or asthma. If you have COPD or are concerned about your lung health, it’s safest to avoid smoking or vaping cannabis. While research is ongoing, experts say inhaling any kind of smoke can damage the lungs—even if the long-term risk of COPD from cannabis alone isn’t yet clear. So it is established that there is a relationship between drinking alcohol and smoking. In fact, people with alcohol dependence are three times more likely to be smokers than the average population. COPD is in reference to a group of lung diseases that affects your lungs in certain ways all of which impact your body’s ability to breathe.

Because COPD disrupts a person’s ability to breathe normally, alcohol can exacerbate these symptoms for some people. This happens because alcohol decreases the lungs’ ability to clear mucus. Alcohol has various physical and mental effects on anyone who chooses to drink. For people with COPD, alcohol can increase the risk of lung problems, sleep disruptions, and allergies. Those who drink heavily may develop a weakened immune system since alcohol can cause your body to lose the nutrients it needs. Those with COPD can develop even more complications such as heart disease.

They don’t prove that alcohol was the reason someone didn’t get COPD. But if you feel stuffy, have a runny nose, trouble breathing, or any other signs of an allergic reaction when drinking alcohol, you should stop drinking completely, he says. These are all signs of alcohol intolerance, which can potentially make your COPD symptoms worse. The surface cells are there to protect your lungs from inhaling damaging materials you breathe in everyday. Parts of your lungs are lined with hair-like cells called cilia who get rid of things inhaled out of the lungs.

While alcohol can complicate issues of COPD, alcohol use doesn’t cause this condition. Instead, there are certain risk factors and markers that make does alcohol affect copd a person more likely to develop COPD. Additionally, although alcohol is initially relaxing for many, this substance has been shown to reduce a person’s quality of sleep. Loss of sleep can contribute to a lowered immune system, which can increase the chance and frequency of a COPD flare-up. While many people can have an occasional social drink, others struggle to control their alcohol intake. A cardiovascular disorder such as COPD may require urgent medical attention.

• The sugar can cause inflammation, and the caffeine can make breathing more difficult by raising your heart rate.
• Heavy alcohol consumption, however, can cause a variety of symptoms and health complications over the course of many years.
• They can explain all of the risks involved and help you properly manage your COPD symptoms so you can live a healthy life.
• To understand how alcohol affects COPD, you first have to understand the general effects that alcohol has on your brain, heart, liver, kidneys, pancreas, and immune system.
• We publish material that is researched, cited, edited and reviewed by licensed medical professionals.

If pancreatitis becomes chronic and is not treated properly, it can cause permanent damage to the organ and lead to diabetes or death. If you believe that alcohol may be causing you to experience depression, sleep disturbances, or poor eating habits, consult your physician and discuss your situation openly. According to the American Lung Association, 85–90% of COPD cases result from smoking, either directly or from secondhand smoke. Plus, we’re always introducing new features to optimize your in-app experience. We recently launched our in-app chatbot, Melody, powered by the world’s most powerful AI technology. Melody is here to help as you adjust to a life with less (or no) alcohol.

• Many pain and anxiety drugs become more intoxicating as they mix with alcohol, and that means they can slow your heart rate and breathing to a dangerously low level.
• Carbon dioxide is bad for anyone, but it’s especially harmful for COPD patients who struggle to expel excess carbon dioxide because of their damaged lungs.
• However, for people with chronic diseases like COPD, the mild toxic effects of alcohol may sometimes pose more of a risk.
• Nearly 90 percent of all COPD cases are caused by cigarette smoking.

Similarly, alcohol often leads to inflammation throughout our body, which can impair our immune system. This makes us more susceptible to all types of infections, including those of our lungs. In fact, studies show that heavy alcohol consumption can increase our risk of respiratory infections. While the occasional drink may be safe, heavy drinking can make COPD symptoms worse and impair the health of our lungs. Alcohol can also increase our risk of respiratory infections, disrupt our sleep, and decrease the effectiveness of some COPD medications.

Health Conditions

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), COPD is the fourth leading cause of death in the United States. Those who develop COPD may experience a wide range of symptoms depending on the severity. Tabak, Cora, et al. “Alcohol consumption in relation to 20-year COPD mortality and pulmonary function in middle-aged men from three european countries.” Epidemiology, March 2001. While research on the effects of alcohol and COPD is ongoing, some facts are available on the effects of the combination of the two. That’s why getting a diagnosis and beginning treatment as soon as you can are vital. Nearly 90 percent of all COPD cases are caused by cigarette smoking.

Explain your plan, and decide on steps of intervention if you slip up or need additional help from outside resources. Getting support from another person trying to quit may not be ideal. Instead, you need an accountability partner, someone you can turn to when your resolve is waning. Each person needs different types of guidance and accountability during the process. Diagnosing COPD requires a physical exam, a review of your medical history, and some tests.

Alcohol Consumption and Risk of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: A Prospective Cohort Study of Men

Unfortunately, this can lead some people down a path of alcohol dependence. Thankfully, effective treatment is available for those with alcohol addiction, as well as any co-occurring physical or mental health concern. Heavy drinking can reduce your levels of glutathione, which is an antioxidant that helps protect your lungs. Drinking too many alcoholic beverages can also cause COPD flare-ups. Wine sensitivity can occur among people with COPD due to the histamine and sulfites in wine. In addition to causing respiratory difficulties, wine can produce allergic reactions and uncomfortable symptoms, like skin itching or flushing.

So, Can You Drink Alcohol if You Have COPD?

Patients suffering from severe COPD are often advised to eat 5 small meals a day rather than 3 large meals to help stave off shortness of breath after eating. A drinker may eat more rapidly than normal, or consume a large quantity of food in one sitting without being aware of how much he’s eating, causing unnecessary breathing problems. If a person has COPD or is at risk for the disease, they should consider staying away from alcohol.

Other studies show that alcohol can interfere or interact with certain medications used to treat COPD. Heavy drinking can also cause nutritional deficiencies and even make your lungs more prone to being damaged by smoking. The body of research is not robust enough to form firm scientific conclusions and many of the studies that have been done on alcohol and COPD are poorly controlled and contradictory. Many also fail to separate the effects of drinking and smoking, which makes it impossible to tell whether or not negative health effects are the result of alcohol or tobacco consumption.

So alcohol may make COPD worse — but can it actually cause breathing problems? While researchers haven’t found clear evidence that drinking alcohol can directly cause COPD, alcohol can damage our lungs and our body’s immune response. This could make it harder to breathe and increase our risk of COPD. In addition to decreasing lung function, alcohol can also create breathing problems while we sleep. Alcohol is a central nervous system depressant, and it can help us fall asleep faster. But, despite drifting off more quickly, alcohol actually reduces the overall quality of sleep and causes frequent disruptions.

Alcohol Can Increase COPD Symptoms and Make You More Likely to Get Sick

Glucose is important because it helps protect your lungs from damage against smoke. Therefore, the combination of drinking and smoking is very volatile, and harsh on your lungs, nad bodily functions. It’s common knowledge that smoking is the primary cause of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), but heavy alcohol consumption can also play a role.

What are some symptoms of COPD and how does alcohol aggravate them?

These reactions are most common among women, and seem to be triggered most often by red or white wine. Sleep apnea can present a larger problem for people with COPD, who already struggle with lung health and breathing-related issues. People who drink heavily are 25 percent more likely to experience an episode of apnea while asleep.

Medical Disclaimer

This may include sneezing, running nose, congestion, itching or flushing of the skin. While any type of alcohol can cause these symptoms, wine appears to cause allergic reactions more than others. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a chronic inflammatory lung disease that causes obstructed airflow from the lungs. It affects 16 million Americans and is the third leading cause of death in the United States.