Heavy Drinking Tied to Harmful Immune Response in People With untreated HIV

[Jim Allen]

A small study, nothing new as such. Smoking, heavy drinking & untreated HIV are bad for you.

Full POZ.com writeup
https://www.poz.com/article/heavy-drinking-tied-harmful-immune-response-people-hiv

In short:

Heavy Drinking Tied to Harmful Immune Response in People With HIV

Researchers analyzed the association between heavy drinking and immune function in those with untreated HIV.

People with HIV who drink heavily—at least three drinks a day for women and four for men—have higher levels of three key biomarkers that are signals of harmful immune activity.

Publishing their findings in PLOS ONE, researchers led by a team at Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) studied 350 people with HIV in Russia who had not yet taken antiretrovirals upon entering the study. The participants were assessed at the study’s outset and again 12 months later (when 21% had started antiretrovirals) and 24 months later (when 35% had started ARVs).

Seventy-one percent of the cohort was male and the average age was 34 years old. Eighty-seven percent reported they were coinfected with hepatitis C virus (HCV), 86% said they currently smoked and about 40% said they had used illicit drugs in the past 30 days. The average viral load was 20,000.

The researchers also assessed the biomarkers of specific immune functions, including systemic inflammation, monocyte activation and altered coagulation, or blood clotting. Previous research has indicated that higher levels of these markers are associated with a greater risk of death.

After adjusting the data to account for differences among the participants in various factors that may affect the biomarkers, the researchers found that heavy alcohol use was associated with higher levels of all three biomarkers.

“Since these biomarkers are associated with mortality, interventions to mitigate effects of heavy drinking on these immune processes merit consideration,” the study authors concluded.