IGHE and asthma: Moderate alcohol consumption (1 to 6 units/week) was associated with the lowest risk, while both people who rarely or never drank and those with heavy daily drinking had higher risks.134 Alcohol also influenced immune responses that potentially affect asthma development.135 For example, alcohol may affect allergic sensitization and total levels of IgE, as well as lymphocyte subsets that drive a Th1/Th2 cytokine imbalance.