Alcohol & Health
Treatment
Helping Alcoholics
Medically Reviewed by Annamarie Coy, BA, ICPR, MATS
In this article
Alcohol abuse affects everyone negatively, but it is especially detrimental to women. Stress plays a significant role in starting and sustaining alcohol use, and women are more prone to stress than men.8
Stress is strongly connected to all phases of alcohol addiction, including:
Women are also more prone to developing mental health disorders throughout their life. The most common is co-occurring depression with anxiety.
Women absorb more alcohol and reach a higher blood alcohol concentration (BAC) than men because of biological differences. They weigh less and have less water in their bodies.
Essentially, this means they can get intoxicated much faster, and it’ll take longer for them to metabolize alcohol. Women are then at greater risk of developing alcohol-related disorders when drinking heavily.
Research shows potential health consequences are higher when a woman has an alcohol use disorder (AUD). According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, heavy drinking is linked to more than 27,000 female deaths annually.3,7
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No formula of factors causes alcoholism in women, but women are more likely to develop AUD than men because of how their bodies process alcohol. Women experience alcohol use disorder for different reasons.
Some of the most common reasons women drink too much and/or develop AUD include:
Over-indulging is riskier for women and is cause for concern for many people.
Symptoms of alcoholism in women include:
Drinking too much alcohol also causes physical side effects. Some of the health issues women experience when they have AUD include:
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Women may experience long-term alcohol-related health issues due to alcohol abuse. Women who drink heavily and abuse alcohol should understand these risks and seek support or treatment when necessary.
Some health risks associated with alcohol abuse include:
Long-term alcohol use is strongly associated with serious health risks in both sexes. However, women with AUD have a higher risk of developing alcohol-related liver injuries like cirrhosis and hepatitis.1,3
Women already have a higher risk of heart disease, which increases even more with excessive use of alcohol. Long-term alcohol abuse is a primary cause of heart disease in women, even those who consume less alcohol than men.1,3
Brain damage develops faster for women who abuse alcohol than for men. Excessive alcohol use disrupts normal brain development, so it’s especially risky for teenage and young adult women.
One study showed that teenage girls who binge drink showed less brain activity. They also performed worse on memory tests than their male peers.1
Binge drinking also negatively impacted their decision-making abilities. Women tend to black out more than men when drinking excessively and experience more frequent memory gaps.1
Drinking alcohol increases the risk of breast cancer for women.3 It also increases the risk of other alcohol-related cancers like throat or liver cancer.
Evidence shows that women who drink one alcoholic beverage daily increase their risk of breast cancer by nearly 10%.1 The risk increases if they frequently drink heavily or binge drink.
Alcohol consumption negatively impacts women who are using certain medications. You should abstain from alcohol if you are using any of the following:
Mixing medications and alcohol can also lead to a dangerous cycle of drug abuse, potentially resulting in drug and alcohol dependence.14
Consuming alcohol during pregnancy puts a developing baby at risk. Any exposure to alcohol during pregnancy increases the risk of cognitive, physical, and behavioral issues after birth.
Babies exposed to alcohol in utero are at risk of fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASDs) like fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS). Both conditions can cause the child to have symptoms such as:
Alcohol consumption during pregnancy also increases the risk of miscarriage and preterm labor. Women who are pregnant or trying to conceive should avoid alcohol completely.
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Binge drinking is the act of consuming a significant amount of alcohol in a short period. For women, binge drinking is known as consuming four or more drinks in less than a 2-hour timeframe.
Binge drinking is becoming an epidemic in clubs, bars, and college campuses. It is a steadily increasing problem for women.
Some of the most significant risks of binge drinking for women include:
Alcohol can increase the likelihood of anxiety or worsen it. Women are more prone to anxiety than men. Anxiety disorders also develop in women earlier than they do in men.5
The reason women are more prone to anxiety than men may be related to differences in brain chemistry. For example, a woman’s fight-or-flight response is more active than a man’s. This response also stays activated longer, partly related to higher estrogen and progesterone levels.5
Meanwhile, alcohol can worsen anxiety by changing the levels of serotonin and other neurotransmitters in the brain. These neurotransmitters are responsible for balancing mood, feelings, and emotions.5
Nearly half of adult women report drinking alcohol in the past 30 days. Approximately 13% of female adults report binge drinking, and 25% do so weekly.3,13
In one study, women who experienced two or more stressful events in the last year were four times more likely to develop alcoholism. Men with the same experiences were 2.5 times more likely to develop alcoholism.8
Alcohol use disorder (AUD) rates have increased in women by 84% over the last 10 years. In men, AUD rates have risen by 34%.8
There are several treatment options available for women with AUD. There are also online resources like the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) to help you understand alcoholism and its dangers.
However, it’s important to understand that people respond to addiction treatment differently. Talk to your doctor or healthcare provider about treatment programs that best suit your needs.
Available treatment programs include:
Understanding AUD’s roots and treating other conditions or mental health issues is essential to successful recovery. It’s also important to have the support of family and friends during treatment and recovery.
Although alcohol abuse can negatively affect anyone regardless of age, gender, or race, women are more susceptible to its harmful effects. Women’s bodies absorb alcohol faster and metabolize it slower.
Because alcohol stays in a woman’s body longer, they can experience the adverse effects of alcohol with fewer drinks. It also makes them more intoxicated faster. Women who have developed an alcohol dependence are also more likely to develop anxiety.
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