Binge drinking could significantly compromise the immune system, even in young healthy adults.
Researchers looked at individuals who drank four or five shots of vodka (depending on their weight) and found the immune system was given a boost 20 minutes after peak intoxication, but functioned even less efficiently than when sober between two and five hours later, Loyola Medicine reported.
Alcohol is known to increase the risk of injury, and these new findings suggest it could also decrease the body's ability to recover from these types of accidents.
The study included eight women and seven men with a median age of 27, each of whom drank enough alcohol to be considered binge drinking. Blood samples were taken at 20 minutes, two hours, and five hours of peak intoxication. These times represent the times when intoxicated patients most often arrive at trauma centers for alcohol-related injuries.
The blood samples showed 20 minutes after peak intoxication there was an increased immune system characterized by higher levels of three types of white blood cells: leukocytes, monocytes and natural killer cells. The researchers also observed a spike in proteins called cytokines, which trigger increased immune responses.
Two and five hours after peak intoxication the team observed the opposite effect, meaning "fewer circulating monocytes and natural killer cells and higher levels of different types of cytokines that signal the immune system to become less active," the researchers reported.
In the future the team plans to conduct a follow-up study of burn unit patients in which individuals who had alcohol in their system upon arrival will be compared to those who are alcohol-free.
"Loyola's nationally recognized Alcohol Research Program investigates such issues as how heavy drinking hinders the body's ability to recover from burns and trauma, how alcohol abuse damages bones, and whether teen binge drinking can increase the risk of mood disorders later in life," the researchers reported.
The findings were published in a recent edition of the journal Alcohol and was funded by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism and University of Maryland.
