Kidney Pain After Drinking Alcohol: What Could Be Causing It

Although the researchers do not analyze the reasons why people are lost to follow-up, we cannot ignore the possibility that some patients were diagnosed with CKD and had begun regular medical treatment in another medical center. We also realize that previous studies did not include an adequate number of heavy drinkers, especially female heavy drinkers. Therefore, the relationship between heavy alcohol consumption and CKD may be affected by this sampling bias [16,79,117]. Some studies found that ethanol has an influence on renal damage, such as apoptosis and epithelial mesenchymal transdifferentiation. Nesreen and Sayed discovered that alcohol consumption significantly increased renal caspase3, caspase8, and caspase9 activity, and ethanol toxicity can increase the ratios of Bax and Bcl-2 in kidney tissues compared to a control group [24,25]. This indicates that long-term ethyl alcohol consumption can activate both intrinsic and extrinsic pathways of apoptosis in the kidneys (Figure 1).

In 2012, 5.9 percent of all global deaths were attributable to alcohol—7.6 percent for men and 4.0 percent for women. Moreover, alcohol-attributable deaths have increased worldwide, making alcohol the fifth leading risk factor for premature death and disability in 2010 and the first among people ages 15 to 49 (World Health Organization alcohol and kidneys 2014). Moreover, alcohol-induced renal tubular dysfunction is also reflected in vitamin reabsorption disorders. Subramanian et al. proved that chronic alcohol consumption can significantly inhibit carrier-mediated thiamin and biotin transport across the renal brush border membrane and basolateral membrane [54,55].

Influence of alcoholism on the prognosis of patients with CKD

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]. Since women have a higher blood concentration of alcohol, they may be more sensitive to alcohol than men [3,50,90]. At the same time, the difference in the actual amounts of alcohol consumption [79] between men and women causes this sex difference. Men generally drink more than women, and men have higher rates of alcoholism than women. Furthermore, the cardiovascular-protective effects of estrogen [91,93] should not be overlooked. Characteristics of the clinical studies on alcohol consumption and chronic kidney disease.

Don’t miss your chance to TRIPLE your impact for children and adults living with kidney disease. The slope of decline in the eGFR estimated over 12 years was less steep in the higher alcohol intake groups (Fig. 3). In the case of alcohol dependency, patients need professional counseling and also rehabilitation services to receive guidance through detoxification and other types of treatment depending on the condition.

Why does my kidney hurt after drinking alcohol?

Under the influence of antidiuretic hormone (ADH), for example, the tubules can create either a concentrated urine, to discharge excess solutes and conserve water, or a dilute urine, to remove extra water from body fluids. In the first case, when body fluids become too concentrated with solutes, the pituitary gland produces abundant ADH, which induces the kidneys to conserve water and concentrate urine, an important ability that enables thriving in an environment where water may be scarce. In the absence of ADH, when body fluids are overly dilute, the kidneys dilute the urine, allowing more water to leave the body. “Normal” urine flow rate is 1 milliliter per minute (i.e., approximately 1 to 1.5 L/day), but this rate can vary widely, depending on water intake or dehydration level, for instance. More than two drinks a day can increase your chance of having high blood pressure. Drinking alcohol can affect many parts of your body, including your kidneys.

  • See a doctor or therapist if you feel you’re dependent on alcohol or if it’s interfering with your life in some way.
  • In general, NO is generated by mesangial cells and renal tubular epithelial cells, and it plays an important role in the regulation of glomerular and medullar hemodynamics and renin release.
  • This subsequently promotes the conversion of H2O2 to the more reactive hydroxyl radicals, which cause damage in antioxidant capacities and mitochondria in renal cells [34,42,43].
  • Excessive liquor consumption can have a short-term effect on the kidneys, which is dehydration.
  • The association of the secondary exposures—frequency of alcohol consumption and binge drinking—with the change in the eGFR were also assessed.
  • Within each nephron, blood plasma enters a tiny ball of unusually permeable capillaries (i.e., the glomerulus), filters into a capsule that surrounds the glomerulus, then flows through a long, looping conduit called the nephron tubule.
  • Of the 48 gallons of filtrate processed through the nephrons of the kidneys each day, only about 1 to 1.5 quarts exit as urine.
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