Alcohol and Your Body

Drinking alcohol can worsen the effects of:

  • Arthritis
  • Asthma
  • Bronchitis
  • Diabetes
  • Emphysema

Drinking alcohol can lead to:

  • Cirrhosis
  • Gastric ulcers and digestive bleeding
  • Hepatitis
  • Impotence

Drinking alcohol can interfere with:

  • Balance, vision, reaction time, memory, and coordination. These problems can lead to falls and can make moving around difficult.
  • Sleep and increase the number of times someone wakes during the night
  • The way that the body processes and absorbs nutrients

Alcohol use can also lead to:

  • A loss of appetite, which can in turn lead to malnutrition. Alcohol plus malnutrition causes confusion.
  • Higher blood pressure
  • A faster rate of bone loss in people who have osteoporosis

Reviewed by Dr. Maria Llorente, Geriatric Psychiatrist

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