Alcohol consumption and autoimmune diseases

As alcohol consumption may modulate the immune system’s regulatory mechanisms to avoid attacking the body’s tissues, it has been proven to play a dichotomic role in autoimmune diseases based on the quantity of consumption. In a review, the authors report updated evidence on the role of alcohol in autoimmune diseases, with a focus on alcohol addiction and the human biological immune system and the relationship between them, with alcohol as a risk or protective factor.The narrative review reports the main evidence on the most studied autoimmune diseases where alcohol represents a key modulator, including autoimmune thyroiditis, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, diabetes, allergic rhinitis, and primary biliary cholangitis. Alcohol at low–moderate dosages seems mostly to have a protective role in these diseases, while at higher dosages, the collateral risks surpass possible benefits. The specific mechanisms by which low-to-moderate alcohol intake relieves autoimmune disease symptoms are not yet fully understood; however, emerging studies suggest that alcohol may have a systemic immunomodulatory effect, potentially altering the balance of anti-inflammatory innate and adaptive immune cells, as well as cytokines (via the NF-κB or NLRP3 pathways). It might influence the composition of the gut microbiome (increasing amounts of beneficial gut microbes) and the production of their fatty acid metabolites, such as short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) and polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), as well as elevated concentrations of acetate, high-density lipoprotein (HDL), and nitric oxide (NO). The authors state that a definite acceptable daily intake (ADI) of ethanol is complicated to establish because of the many mechanisms associated with alcohol consumption such that despite the interesting content of these findings, there is a limit to their applicability, and risks should be weighed in cases of alcoholic drinking recommendations. The aim of future studies should be to modulate those beneficial pathways involved in the alcohol-protective role of ADs with various strategies to avoid the risks associated with alcohol intake.
Source: Terracina S, Caronti B, Lucarelli M, Francati S, Piccioni MG, Tarani L, et al. (2025) Alcohol consumption and autoimmune diseases. Int J Molecular Sciences, 26(2):845. doi.org/10.3390/ijms26020845