Related Experiment Video
Updated: Apr 19, 2026
Assessment of Glutamine as a Fuel Source for Alveolar Macrophages Exposed to Chronic Ethanol Using an Extracellular Flux Bioanalyzer
Published on: November 15, 2024
High alcohol consumption and the risk of renal damage: a systematic review and meta-analysis
W Cheungpasitporn1, C Thongprayoon2, W Kittanamongkolchai2
1From the Division of Nephrology and Hypertension, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, 200 First Street SW, Rochester, MN 55905, USA, Department of Medicine, University College Cork, Western Road, Cork, Ireland and Department of Medicine, SUNY Upstate Medical University, 750 East Adams Street, Syracuse, NY 13210, USA cheungpasitporn.wisit@mayo.edu.
Background:
The risk of renal damage in patients with high alcohol consumption is controversial. The objective of this meta-analysis was to evaluate the associations between high alcohol consumption and progression of kidney damage including chronic kidney disease (CKD), end-stage renal disease (ESRD) and proteinuria.
Methods:
A literature search was performed using MEDLINE, EMBASE and Cochrane Databases from inception through August 2014 to identify studies investigating the association between high alcohol consumption and CKD, ESRD or proteinuria. Studies that reported odds ratios, relative risks or hazard ratios comparing the risk of CKD, ESRD or proteinuria in patients consuming high amount of alcohol versus those who did not consume alcohol were included. Pooled risk ratios (RRs) and 95% confidence interval (CI) were calculated using a random-effect, generic inverse variance method.
Results:
Twenty studies with 292 431 patients were included in our analysis to assess the associations between high alcohol consumption and progression of kidney damage. The pooled RRs of CKD, proteinuria and ESRD in patients with high alcohol consumption were 0.83 (95% CI: 0.71-0.98), 0.85 (95% CI: 0.62-1.17) and 1.00 (95% CI: 0.55-1.82), respectively. Post hoc analysis assessing the sex-specific association between high alcohol consumption and CKD demonstrated pooled RRs of 0.72 (95% CI: 0.57-0.90) in males and 0.78 (95% CI: 0.58-1.03) in females.
Conclusions:
Our study demonstrates an inverse association between high alcohol consumption and risk for developing CKD in males. There is no significant association between high alcohol consumption and the risk for developing proteinuria or ESRD.
