Experts don’t have hard evidence that drinking alcohol affects FSGS, says Salem Almaani, MBBS, a nephrologist who specializes in glomerular diseases at Cleveland Clinic in Ohio. Some research shows a possible connection between heavy drinking and kidney problems, but other studies show no link.
That said, consuming alcohol can cause increased stress that affects your cells, inflammation, and other effects that could lead to kidney damage. Alcohol may also negatively affect your kidneys indirectly, via its effects on other organ systems, but more research is needed in both areas to understand the connections.
“There are some data that binge drinking approximately doubles the risk of worsening kidney failure,” says Michael Klein, MD, a nephrologist and an associate professor of medicine at New York Medical College in Valhalla, New York. Binge drinking for men means having five or more alcoholic drinks in about two hours or fewer. For women, it means at least four drinks in that time frame.
Other studies suggest (but don’t prove) that high levels of alcohol — over 40 grams (g) per day, or about three standard drinks — can worsen a chronic kidney disease (CKD) like FSGS, says Dr. Klein. “There may also be gender differences in the effects of alcohol on CKD progression, but, again, these are not clear data,” says Klein.
Alcohol and Your Liver
“Patients with FSGS require specific treatments, and some of them may have negative effects on the liver,” says Yongen Chang, MD, a nephrologist with UCI Health in Irvine, California. When your liver doesn’t function well, it can’t filter toxins like alcohol as effectively. Reduced liver function puts extra stress on your kidneys, even without adding alcohol to the mix.
Alcohol and Dehydration
Your kidneys help your body maintain the right balance of water, but alcohol makes it harder to keep that balance. When you drink too much, dehydration can cause kidney injury, especially if you’re taking nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) like ibuprofen (Advil) at the same time, as they can also put you at risk of kidney damage, says Klein.
Alcohol and Blood Pressure
If you have more than two alcoholic drinks per day it can increase your risk of high blood pressure, and it can also affect how your blood pressure medicines work. Over time, elevated blood pressure can damage your kidneys.
Alcohol and Proteinuria
Kidney damage from FSGS can cause too much protein to leak into your urine (proteinuria), which may lead to symptoms like swelling and fatigue. And some research suggests that heavy drinking, even without FSGS, can increase your risk of proteinuria.
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