Effect of alcohol abuse on selected markers of inflammation, hemostasis, and endothelial function.

Background: Alcohol consumption, even in moderate amounts, is associated with complex changes in blood biochemistry, involving abnormalities of many markers affecting cardiovascular risk.

Methods: A total of 100 patients with documented alcohol abuse were included in the study. Demographic data and information on alcohol consumption were collected using a standardized questionnaire. All patients underwent biochemical tests. The following parameters were evaluated: PAI-1, vWF, TNF-α, VCAM-1, adiponectin, fibrinogen, lipid profile, and hsCRP. The results were compared with a control group of 25 healthy subjects.

Results: A significant adverse effect of alcohol abuse was observed for markers such as PAI-1, TNF-α, VCAM-1, adiponectin, and fibrinogen. Moreover, most of the subjects showed elevated TC, LDL-C, and TG levels. There was a significant relationship between vWF and average daily alcohol consumption, a positive relationship between adiponectin levels and age, and between fibrinogen and the number of cigarettes smoked. No significant correlations were observed between the other markers and age, gender, place of residence, daily alcohol consumption, and total time of alcohol abuse.

Conclusions: Several abnormalities in most of the analyzed markers were observed in persons abusing alcohol, with no significant correlation with the daily amount of alcohol consumed and the total time of alcohol abuse, which may indicate permanent and irreversible damage to many tissues and organs as a result of chronic alcohol consumption. Further studies in this area with a larger group of patients are necessary to clarify the mechanisms leading to cardiovascular damage in the course of alcohol abuse.