Alcoholism—a deep insight in to its role in various diseases: A critical review

Abstract Introduction The article critically reviews about some emerging problems due to alcoholism. In the present decade, various diseases caused by chronic alcoholism are immensely important. Alcohol is a water-soluble molecule that is rapidly absorbed into the bloodstream from the stomach, small intestine and colon and metabolized primarily in the liver by the actions of alcohol dehydrogenase and mixed function enzymes. Alcohol dehydrogenase converts alcohol to acetaldehyde, which is subsequently converted to acetate by the actions of acetaldehyde dehydrogenase. Four percent of the global burden of disease can be attributed to alcohol, which is linked to more than 60 different specific diseases that have fatal outcome in human society. The most common are cancer, neuropsychiatric disorders, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. The article reports the results of some of our studies about the role of alcoholism in various diseases and the need to improve experimental research to minimize such outcomes support by evidence-based scientific research regarding harnessing the alcohol policies of today and tomorrow globally for the betterment of mankind. Conclusion Lack of widespread screening and brief interventions, however, has meant that alcoholism is treated more often as an acute illness than chronic disease worldwide. Despite important evidence collected thus far, more research on effective strategies is needed in developing countries to stop this menace.