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Women are more vulnerable than men to alcohol’s effects, even after drinking smaller amounts. Heavy drinking can lead to increased risk of health problems such as liver disease, brain damage, and breast cancer. Women are as likely as men to recover from alcohol dependence, but women may have more difficulty gaining access to treatment.
Particular alcohol risks in women Women in many different cultures enjoy drinking alcohol for a variety of reasons—to celebrate a special occasion, help them feel more sociable, or simply to unwind with family and friends. While many are able to drink responsibly, alcohol use does pose unique risks to all women. While men are more likely to drink alcohol than women, and to develop problems because of their drinking, women are much more vulnerable to alcohol’s harmful effects. Women tend to develop alcohol-related diseases and other consequences of drinking sooner than men, and after drinking smaller cumulative amounts of alcohol. Women are also more likely to abuse alcohol and other substances in order to self-medicate problems such as depression, anxiety, and stress, or to cope with emotional difficulties. Women who drink more than light to moderate amounts of alcohol (more than about 7 drinks a week) are at increased risk of car accidents and other traumatic injuries, cancer, hypertension, stroke, and suicide. In addition, drinking at an elevated rate increases the likelihood that a woman will go on to abuse or become dependent on alcohol. The health consequences of alcohol abuse in women Women who abuse or are dependent on alcohol are more vulnerable than men to:
Alcohol and breast cancer Alcohol may also raise a woman’s chance of developing breast cancer. Each additional 10 grams of alcohol (the amount in about one 4-oz glass of wine) per day raises the relative risk of developing breast cancer over a lifetime by about 10%. To put this in perspective: A woman’s overall lifetime risk of breast cancer is almost 9 in 100 if she drinks no alcohol. Two drinks per day increases the risk to just over 10 in 100, while six drinks a day ups her risk to about 13 in 100. Women—and girls—are drinking more According to a 2009 survey, approximately 47% of women ages 12 and over in the United States reported being current drinkers, defined as having had a drink in the past 30 days. Trends suggest that white, employed women are drinking greater amounts of alcohol and with greater frequency. Some of this increase may reflect a greater comfort on the part of women to discuss their drinking. Social stigmas are starting to fade Historically, women have tended to feel a greater sense of shame about drinking and getting drunk than men, but it appears that among younger women, this stigma may be fading. While men are still more likely to drink—and to binge—women are drinking more, and more often, than they did in the past. According to data from a survey of almost 18,000 college students across the U.S., about one in three female students engages in binge drinking (consuming four or more drinks in a row, often in quick succession). Furthermore:
It's easy to cross the line into risky drinking A standard drink is:
For women in particular, there is a very fine line between healthful and harmful drinking—one that is easy to cross. While moderate drinking is defined as no more than seven drinks a week and no more than three on any given day, those levels aren’t set in stone. The amount a woman can safely drink depends on:
Because women become addicted to alcohol more easily than men, drinking even moderately can be a slippery slope. This is especially true for older women. In fact, about half of all cases of alcoholism in women begin after age 59. Certainly, no one should feel obliged to start drinking for the health benefits. There are plenty of other ways to safeguard your health, such as regular exercise, a nutritious diet, keeping your weight under control, and not smoking. But for women who enjoy alcoholic beverages, it’s important to know where to draw the line, and to be prepared to redraw it as you get older. Alcohol affects women in unique ways A woman’s body processes alcohol more slowly than a man’s. One drink for a woman has about twice the effect of one for a man. Plus, women have a “telescoping,” or accelerated, course of alcohol dependence, meaning that they generally advance from their first drink to their first alcohol-related problem to the need for treatment more quickly than men. Why are women more sensitive to the effects of alcohol? Several biological factors make women more vulnerable to the effects of alcohol than men.
Sexual and physical abuse increases risk Evidence suggests that sexual or physical abuse during childhood may predispose both men and women to alcohol and drug problems in adulthood. Since women are more likely to have been victims of childhood sexual abuse, they are disproportionately affected. Research shows that:
Drinking during pregnancy–Never a good idea Drinking alcohol during pregnancy can cause an array of physical and mental birth defects, and is the leading preventable cause of mental retardation in the United States. When a pregnant woman drinks, alcohol passes through the placenta to her fetus. In the fetus’s developing digestive system, alcohol breaks down much more slowly than it does in an adult body, meaning that the fetus’s blood alcohol level can remain high for longer periods. Any kind of alcohol in any amount can harm a developing fetus, especially during the first and second trimester. Physicians and public health officials recommend that women avoid drinking any alcohol during pregnancy. Risks to offspring Each year in the U.S. alone, about 40,000 babies—or one in every 100—are born with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (a term that encompasses fetal alcohol syndrome and several related disorders). Babies with these problems usually:
Overcoming barriers to treatment and recovery Not only are women less able to tolerate the effects of alcohol than men, they are also less likely to seek specific help to overcome any drinking problems they develop. Men who abuse alcohol are more likely to enter alcohol-treatment programs, whereas women are more inclined to seek help from primary care practitioners and mental health counselors. Women with drinking problems:
Women and men are equally capable of recovery For a long time, professionals believed that women with substance abuse problems were less likely than men to recover from them. Yet limited evidence on the matter was available, because many studies on the outcome of substance abuse treatment conducted before the 1990s enrolled only men. The few studies that enrolled both men and women did not examine the impact of gender differences. The situation changed in the early 1990s after the FDA and the National Institutes of Health issued guidelines aimed at increasing the representation of women and minorities in research studies. A review in Drug and Alcohol Dependence found that women are equally able to recover as men. Still, women face some unique challenges. Women may have difficulty gaining access to treatment A number of studies conclude that women are less likely than men to enter treatment programs for substance abuse problems, including those involving alcohol. Although it remains unclear why this is so, particular barriers to treatment seem to affect women more often than men. These include:
Even if women remain reluctant to enter traditional alcohol-treatment programs, it’s important to seek medical and emotional support from other sources. Psychotherapy, self-help groups, and medications are all available to help women stop or reduce their drinking. Anyone who has struggled to overcome alcohol dependence or an alcohol abuse problem knows how difficult a process recovery can be. But the evidence suggests that women are just as likely to recover as men once they begin treatment—a glimmer of hope that may make the journey to recovery worth trying. #Alcohol #woman #girl #drinking #treatment #risk #health Please like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter for all the updates and news
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