Women and Alcoholism can be a serious problem as alcoholism is not gender-biased -- men and women are both susceptible to it. But alcohol effects women differently than men, something every woman should be aware of as they lift that drink to their lips.
The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism writes:
Women appear to be more vulnerable than men to many adverse consequences of alcohol use. Women achieve higher concentrations of alcohol in the blood and become more impaired than men after drinking equivalent amounts of alcohol.
According to a fact sheet from the Center for Science in the Public Interest, women and alcoholism have a higher risk than men.
In a lifetime, consumption of alcohol by female alcoholics is 60% that of men, yet heart muscle disease in both genders are equal. Similarly, brain shrinkage and liver disease is the same in men and women and alcoholism, suggesting women are more vulnerable to the effects of alcohol than men.
Women and alcoholism has also been linked to higher rates of breast cancer.
From a psychological standpoint, one study shows 40% of alcoholic women attempt suicide, compared to nearly 9% in non-alcoholics.
Women and alcoholism are less likely than men to be involved in a fat drunk driving crash. However, the Center for Science in the Public Interest writes:
From 1977 to 1997 the number of male drivers involved in alcohol-related fatal traffic crashes decreased 31%, while the number of females drivers involved in alcohol-related fatal crashes has increased 12%.
Related Articles
