Chronic Drinkers Have High Risk of Suffering Lung Infections and Damage: Study

Heavy drinking linked to the development of lung diseases, finds a study.

Chronic drinkers have high susceptibility to life-threatening illnesses like liver failure, cancers, brain injuries, pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), heart diseases and sexual problems. Extreme alcohol dependence can spoil personal relations, family life and career that makes individuals suffer depression, anxiety and other mental problems. In a recent research, experts at the Thomas Jefferson University discovered that damages caused to body's immune system by frequently drinking can give rise to serious lung infections and diseases.

They identified fat accumulation in the lungs similar to fatty liver disease categorized by buildup of large vacuoles of triglycerides in liver cells, a key factor for causing infections.

In the presence of alcohol in the liver, fat cells are produced to counter-balance its toxicity. In lungs, the fatty secretions also occur in the inner lining that ensures lubrication of the air ways while breathing. Prolonged exposure to alcohol elevates the production of fat deposits in lungs and liver that impairs functioning and subsequently damages both organs.

The current study examined the effects of unrestrained exposure to alcohol in rats until they developed 100 percent higher levels of triglycerides and 300 percent increase in free fatty acids in the surfactant cells of lungs. It was observed that fat accumulated in surfactant cells and lung macrophages abundant in immune cells that destroy dangerous bacteria and sick cells inside the lungs. Eventually, the fat-exposed lung macrophages became less competent in killing bacteria.

"It's likely that the macrophages try to engulf the excess fat in order to protect the cells in the lung, but in doing so, they become less effective sentinels against infection and disease," said Ross Summer, study author and an associate professor at the Center for Translational Medicine at Thomas Jefferson University, in a news release.

These findings emphasize the negative consequences of regular drinking and also call upon the need to use lipid-lowering drugs to specially treat ARDS.

More information is available online in the American Journal of Respiratory Cell and Molecular Biology.