Female Health Risks Attributed To Alcoholism
Alcohol Affects Women More Adversely Than Men
Women process alcohol differently from men.
who are alcoholics or who even occasionally drink too much alcohol face considerably greater health risks than men who drink the same amounts. Women who drink will get drunk faster than men and become addicted more quickly to alcohol than do men. Even though men are more likely to drink alcohol and drink it in larger quantities, gender differences in body structure and chemistry cause women to absorb more alcohol into their bodies and take longer to process it and remove it from their systems. In other words, if men and women are drinking equal amounts of alcohol, women end up having higher alcohol blood levels than men, and the immediate effects of the alcohol occur more quickly and last longer in women. These differences also make women more vulnerable to alcohol’s long-term effects on their health.
Research has shown that they also suffer the consequences of abuse-related illnesses a lot sooner than do men. Alcohol’s effects on the liver are more severe for women than they are for men, and women have a greater risk of having alcohol-related liver diseases such as cirrhosis and hepatitis. On a per-capita basis, more women die of alcohol related cirrhosis than men do.
Greater Risk Of Breast Cancer
Some alcohol-related diseases that women who are alcoholics are at risk for include heart disease, ulcers, reproductive problems, pancreatitis, memory loss, and osteoporosis. In the later stages of alcoholism, women can develop hypertension, anemia, and malnutrition faster than men according to the Centers for Disease Control. Several recent research projects have determined that excessive alcohol consumption in women can result in breast cancer and different cancers of the digestive tract. A recent study showed that women who drink two to five alcoholic drinks per day have a 41 percent increase in their risk of getting breast cancer. Research has shown that excessive drinking in women actually causes the brain to shrink.
Higher Risk Of Sexual Assault
Some health effects of excessive alcohol abuse are specific to women. Women who drink in excess or binge drink are more likely to have unprotected sex with multiple or unknown partners which can lead to sexually transmitted diseases and unplanned pregnancy. Binge drinking also puts women at risk for sexual assault and rape. This is a bigger problem on college campuses.
Menstrual Disorders and Infertility
Menstrual disorders and fertility problems can be caused from heavy drinking. Even occasional drinking can cause infertility and make otherwise fertile women unable to become pregnant. Once pregnant, heavy drinking can lead to miscarriage, stillbirth and birth defects in the infant called Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. Research has shown that women who drink during pregnancy are more likely to have a baby die of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS).
Excessive drinking of alcohol causes severe health consequences in both men and women but studies have shown that it takes less alcohol to cause the same ill effects in women. The long-term health risks coupled with the chances of death make alcoholism and binge drinking in women extremely dangerous. Occasional drinking on holidays or special occasions is shown to be acceptable but women should take extra care to control their alcohol consumption so they do not become addicted.
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