A recent study suggests that drinking alcohol has shown to have a more dangerous effect for people who are HIV positive and that even a moderate drinking level is being linked to an increased risk of alcohol-related health problems and death.

The researchers found that HIV positive patients, even after the consumption of one or two drinks a day, were at a higher risk of mortality or health issues related to alcohol. The alcohol effects have shown to have a bigger impact on people with HIV, regardless if the patient suppresses the antiretroviral treatment (ART), the researchers of Yale University reported.

The study concerned the patients who were cared for by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs between the years 2008 and 2012. Among those patients, 18,000 and more were HIV positive and 42,000 and more were not infected with the virus. The study focused on the connection between the consumption of alcohol, death and other health related issues developed by the patients.

"It demonstrates that even among people on ART with suppressed viral load, who are much less sick in general, there is still an added effect of alcohol among those individuals than people without HIV," said Dr. Amy Justice, researcher and a professor of general medicine and of public health at Yale's School of Public Health, in New Haven, Conn.

The researchers found the HIV positive patients that drank even a modest amount of alcohol had a higher risk of developing a alcohol-related health problem and die versus those who weren't HIV positive. These results were even found to be the same for those with suppressed HIV, according to the study in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence.

"It suggests the threshold for safe alcohol consumption is likely different for people with HIV," she said in a university news release.

The reason for HIV-positive patients have an increased risk of alcohol-related problems isn't yet known. But it has been known that HIV suppresses the immune system and alcohol, additionally, suppresses the immune system. A proactive approach in maintaining a healthy immune system is advisable.

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