Investigating the Impact of Alcohol Consumption on Some Haematological Variables among Alcohol Consumers in Jos Metropolis, Nigeria

Ethanol is contained in alcoholic beverages, which are produced by the process of fermentation of grains, fruits, and other sources of sugar. The effect of alcohol consumption among youths and adults resulting to escalating crime rate in the society has generated great concern. The impact of alcohol consumption on haematological variables has not been well documented in Jos metropolis. The study sought to establish whether alcohol consumption has any effect on the haematological status of individuals or not. Following informed consent, we determined haematocrit values by the microhaematocrit method, haemoglobin (Hb) concentration by cyanmethaemoglobin technique, total and differential white blood cell counts (WBC), malaria parasite as well as microscopic blood film reporting of 124 alcohol consumers and 53 non-consumers as a control. SPSS version 23 was used to compare mean values between alcohol consumers and the control group (student t-test), while associations of blood film report were determined by chi-square. Results showed a significantly higher total lymphocytes count among alcohol consumers compared to nonalcohol consumers (48.28±12.98 v 41.91±11.59; p=0.002). Also, the blood film reporting revealed a significantly higher percentages of macrocytes (p=0.001), microcytes (p=0.020), hypochromia (p=0.001), polychromasia (p=0.013), rouleaux formation (p=0.004) and atypical lymphocytes (p=0.011) and malaria parasitaemia (p=0.001) among alcohol consumers compared to the control group. Anisocytosis and hypochromia, which are essential characteristic features of anaemia, have been shown to associate with alcohol consumption. The implication is that excessive alcohol intake may impact adversely on haematological variables, and particularly constitute an increased risk of developing anaemia.