Alcohol consumption represents a major factor of morbidity and mortality, with a wide range of adverse medical implications that practically affect every organ system. It is the fifth major cause of deaths in men and women and causes up to 139 million disability-adjusted life years. Solid evidence places the risk as undoubtedly correlated to the length of time and amount of alcohol consumption. While alcohol-related liver disease represents one of the most studied and well-known consequences of alcohol use, the term itself embodies a wide spectrum of progressive disease stages that are responsible for almost half of the liver-related mortality worldwide. We discuss the staged alcohol-related fatty liver, alcohol-related steatohepatitis and, finally, fibrosis and cirrhosis, which ultimately may end up in a hepatocellular carcinoma. Other comorbidities such as acute and chronic pancreatitis; central nervous system; cardiovascular, respiratory and endocrine system; renal disease; urological pathologies; type 2 diabetes mellitus and even infectious diseases are reviewed in their relation to alcohol consumption. This article reviews the impact of alcohol use on different systems and organs, summarizing available evidence regarding its medical implications. It examines current basic and clinical data regarding mechanisms to highlight factors and processes that may be targetable to improve patient outcomes. Although alcohol use is a part of many cultural and social practices, as healthcare providers we must identify populations at high risk of alcohol abuse, educate patients about the potential alcohol-related harm and provide appropriate treatment.

中文翻译：

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饮酒：医学意义，肝脏及其他。

饮酒是发病率和死亡率的主要因素，具有广泛的不良医学影响，实际上影响到每个器官系统。它是男性和女性死亡的第五大原因，导致多达 1.39 亿残疾调整生命年。确凿的证据表明，风险无疑与饮酒的时间长度和数量有关。虽然与酒精相关的肝病代表了酒精使用的研究最多和众所周知的后果之一，但该术语本身体现了广泛的进展性疾病阶段，这些阶段几乎占全球肝脏相关死亡率的一半。我们讨论了分期酒精相关性脂肪肝、酒精相关性脂肪性肝炎，最后是纤维化和肝硬化，最终可能导致肝细胞癌。其他合并症，如急性和慢性胰腺炎；中枢神经系统; 心血管、呼吸和内分泌系统；肾脏疾病; 泌尿系统病理学；回顾了 2 型糖尿病甚至传染病与饮酒的关系。本文回顾了酒精使用对不同系统和器官的影响，总结了有关其医学影响的现有证据。它检查了有关机制的当前基本和临床数据，以突出可能有助于改善患者预后的因素和过程。尽管酒精使用是许多文化和社会实践的一部分，但作为医疗保健提供者，我们必须确定酒精滥用高风险人群，教育患者了解潜在的酒精相关危害并提供适当的治疗。