Alcohol Use and the Risk of Communicable Diseases.

Department of Psychology, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg 2006, South Africa. Section of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06510, USA. Yale Institute for Global Health, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520, USA. Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Institute for Mental Health Policy Research and Campbell Family Mental Health Research Institute, Toronto, ON M5S 2S1, Canada. Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5T 3M7, Canada. Institute for Collaboration on Health, Intervention, and Policy, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT 06269, USA. Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drug Research Unit, South African Medical Research Council, Pretoria 0001, South Africa. Division of Comparative Effectiveness and Decision Science, Department of Population Health, NYU Grossman School of Medicine, New York University, New York, NY 10013, USA. Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5T 1R8, Canada. Center for Interdisciplinary Addiction Research (ZIS), Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE), 20246 Hamburg, Germany. Institute of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Technische Universität Dresden, 01187 Dresden, Germany. Faculty of Medicine, Institute of Medical Science, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 1A8, Canada. Program on Substance Abuse, Public Health Agency of Catalonia, 08005 Barcelona, Spain. Department of International Health Projects, Institute for Leadership and Health Management, I.M. Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University (Sechenov University), 119991 Moscow, Russia.

Nutrients. 2021;(10)
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Abstract

The body of knowledge on alcohol use and communicable diseases has been growing in recent years. Using a narrative review approach, this paper discusses alcohol's role in the acquisition of and treatment outcomes from four different communicable diseases: these include three conditions included in comparative risk assessments to date-Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)/AIDS, tuberculosis (TB), and lower respiratory infections/pneumonia-as well as Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) because of its recent and rapid ascension as a global health concern. Alcohol-attributable TB, HIV, and pneumonia combined were responsible for approximately 360,000 deaths and 13 million disability-adjusted life years lost (DALYs) in 2016, with alcohol-attributable TB deaths and DALYs predominating. There is strong evidence that alcohol is associated with increased incidence of and poorer treatment outcomes from HIV, TB, and pneumonia, via both behavioral and biological mechanisms. Preliminary studies suggest that heavy drinkers and those with alcohol use disorders are at increased risk of COVID-19 infection and severe illness. Aside from HIV research, limited research exists that can guide interventions for addressing alcohol-attributable TB and pneumonia or COVID-19. Implementation of effective individual-level interventions and alcohol control policies as a means of reducing the burden of communicable diseases is recommended.

Methodological quality

Publication Type : Review

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