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Alcohol & HIV

While more research is needed, 2007 studies at Boston University School of Medicine and other institutions that have found a link between the progression of human immunodeficiency virus and alcohol consumption. Researchers assessed CD4 cell counts, HIV RNA levels (viral load), and alcohol consumption in 595 HIV-infected persons with alcohol problems, according to ScienceDaily.

  1. Alcohol Use and HIV

    • Alcohol use with HIV has been studied in animals and humans, as well as in-vitro. HIV patients who have had past alcohol problems and continue to drink, and who are on highly active antiretroviral therapy, or HAART, have been found to have greater progression of the virus than those who don't consume alcohol.

    Immune Effects

    • Alcohol use by HIV patients can increase replication of the virus in the body's lymphocytes. Boston University researchers discovered that HIV patients on HAART who drank moderate or high amounts of alcohol have lower T-cell, or immune fighting cell, counts than HIV patients on HAART who do not drink. Because chronic alcohol consumption causes immunodeficiency infections like tuberculosis and pneumonia, consuming alcohol while infected by the human immunodeficiency virus is likely to exacerbate such infections.

    Disease Progression

    • Alcohol can slow recovery from infections associated with HIV. Dr. Jeffrey Samet of Boston University School of Medicine determined that HIV patients who are not taking medications for the virus and who continue to drink alcohol risk the progression of the virus if they do not change their drinking habits.

    The Liver

    • The more alcohol a person imbibes, the more work his liver must do. Since the liver processes antiretroviral medications, the more alcohol an HIV patient drinks, the less able the liver is at processing the medications effectively.

    Hepatitis

    • Oftentimes, HIV-positive persons are infected with hepatitis as well, which affects the liver. The more alcohol consumed by these patients, the more damage to the liver from alcohol and hepatitis. Increased toxicity from alcohol and antiretroviral drugs can be toxic to bone marrow as well as the liver.

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