Binge drinking hits immune system, study shows

Binge drinking not only creates a greater risk of injury, it also has the ability to significantly impair the immune systems of healthy adults, a new study has discovered.

Binge drinking can impair the immune systems of healthy adults, researcher claim

As reported by Medical News Today, researchers at Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine’s Alcohol Research Program found that binge drinking reduces the body’s ability to recover from traumatic injuries, obstructing the healing of wounds, making patients more susceptible to infection and increasing blood loss.

While binge drinkers are aware of the behavioural changes their habits induce, they are less aware about its affect on their immune system, Elizabeth Kovacs, co-author of the Loyola study said.

As part of the study, eight men and eight women drank four or five shots of vodka. Blood samples taken from the participants 20 minutes after “peak intoxication” revealed they had “revved up” immune systems, which subsequently dropped to below the average levels of a sober person up to five hours later.

Previous studies have shown that binge drinkers are at greater risk of injury than others, while new research has also suggested that binge drinking women are at “far greater risk” than men.

According to the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), one in six adults in the US binge drink four times a month. Binge drinking is defined as drinking enough to reach or exceed a blood alcohol content of .08 – the legal limit for driving.