EFFECTS OF AN ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE ON SOME CARDIORESPIRATORY INDICES INCLUDING OXYGEN SATURATION AND OXIDATIVE STRESS MARKERS IN YOUNG MALE ADULTS

ABSTRACT

Beverages play an important role in energy intake and diet quality and can contribute to positive energy balance. Many beverages are calorically dense and nutrient poor as well as contributing little to satiation. Alcoholic beverages have been used in human societies since the beginning of recorded history. Alcohol is causally related to more than 60 medical conditions. Overall, 3.5% of global burden of disease is attributable to alcohol. The deleterious health effects of alcohol can be attributed both to its acute as well as its chronic toxic effects, all of which may result in irreversible organ damage. The present study compared the effects of alcoholic beverage on some cardio-respiratory indices including oxygen saturation and oxidative stress markers in young male adults. Thirty (30) male subjects from the University of Benin between the ages of 18-35years were used for this research. To ascertain the subject’s health and fitness, they were subjected to answer a questionnaire to exclude smokers and those with cardiac, pulmonary or inflammatory diseases. They were divided into three groups. Group 1 (n=10) which served as the control group comprised of subjects that have never taken an alcoholic beverage, Group 2 (n=10) comprised subjects that are occasional drinkers of alcoholic beverage and Group 3 (n=10) comprised subjects that are frequent drinkers of alcoholic beverage. All cardiorespiratory parameters including oxygen saturation and oxidative stress indices were checked ten (10) minutes before alcohol intake and thirty (30) minutes after alcohol intake. Results VI and Conclusion: This result of our findings indicated that light to moderate drinkers of alcohol which corresponds to occasional and frequent drinkers of alcohol have little to no deleterious effect on the cardiovascular system as compared to heavy drinkers which are high risk. The research showed there was an increase in FVC, FEV1 and PEFR in occasional and frequent drinkers of alcohol in comparison to control (non-drinkers). This therefore means that light to moderate drinkers of alcohol have better lung airway flow than alcohol abstainers in young healthy male adults. There was a decrease in superoxide dismutase (SOD), Catalase (CAT), Glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and an increase in malondialdehyde (MDA) although not statistically significant before and after alcohol consumption. This therefore means that light to moderate consumption of alcohol does not cause a significant oxidative stress in young healthy male adults. In conclusion, drinking moderate amounts of alcoholic beverages may have some benefit for lung and heart function with the exception of individuals with smoking and evident lung or heart disease.