Alcoholism

In recent news, women and alcohol have become a scary reality. It has become more apparent that the number of women abusing alcohol is a pressing and, at times, life-threatening issue. According to the FBI, more women are being arrested nationally for driving while under the influence of drugs or alcohol (up 28% from 1998), and about 5.3 million women in the U.S. threaten their health and safety with the use of alcohol.

Women and alcohol is not always a good mix. Many women think that extra cocktail when out with the ladies or another glass of wine with dinner won’t hurt. However, surprisingly, there is a fine line between moderate and excessive drinking. According to U.S. Dietary Guidelines, women should not have more than one alcoholic drink a day (12 ounces of beer, 5 ounces of wine or 1.5 ounces of 80-proof distilled spirits).

But more so than quantifying how much is too much, it’s important to take a look at why this drink limit is crucial to women’s health. Although the drink limit is greater for men, and men are two to three times more likely to abuse alcohol then women, women who abuse alcohol are significantly more likely to have medical problems and develop them earlier in their substance abuse than men. For example, if a woman drinks the same amount as a man, she’s more likely, according to the University of North Dakota School of Medicine and Health Sciences, to develop liver-related disease.

Some of this might be due to women’s bodies having a lower water content than men. Their bodies also tend to break down acetaldehyde (a toxic byproduct of alcohol) more slowly so it stays in the liver longer. Scientists have also found that women’s higher levels of estrogen make some liver cells more sensitive to alcohol’s toxic effect. According to British Million Woman Study, as little as one alcoholic drink a day may increase women’s risk for cancers of the mouth, throat, esophagus and rectum. Women drinkers are also more likely to get stomach ulcers as a result of drinking, and for some, risk for breast cancer increases. Though the resveratrol in red wine has shown to have heart healthy benefits, drink more than the recommended glass per day and those benefits are reversed. In fact, heavy drinking is the leading cause of cardiovascular disease.

Understanding how these risks might outweigh some of the benefits is important even for light to moderate drinkers. And for those who worry they might be drinking too much, take the following quiz at LifeScript.com.

Here are some warning signs of possible alcohol abuse:

• Can never stick to “just one” drink.
• Regularly drink more than you intended to.
• Feel guilty or ashamed about your drinking.
• Lie to others or attempt to hide your drinking habits.
• Have friends or family who have express their concern about your drinking habits.
• Need to drink in order to relax or feel better.
• Ever “black out” or forget what you did while you were drinking.
• Repeatedly neglect responsibilities at home, work, or school due to alcohol use.
• Continue to drink despite relationship problems it’s causing.
• Drink in physically dangerous situations such as driving or mixing with prescription drugs.
• Repeated legal problems due to alcohol.
• Experience cravings, tolerance, or withdrawal symptoms.

Fall is in the air, and colleges all over the country are teeming with campus life. September is an exciting time for many young adults and their parents, but it can also be an overwhelming one. With their newfound freedom and responsibility, students will begin to develop life-building skills and knowledge that they will retain well into adulthood. Sadly, not all of these habits will be positive. Research published this month in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, found that college binge drinking habits, despite awareness campaigns, have showed only an improvement of two percent since 1993 when 58 percent reported binge drinking in the past two weeks.

While college binge drinking puts students at immediate risk for reckless behavior, such as drunk driving and physical injuries, it also puts them at a higher risk for developing deeper substance abuse problems as the brain’s reward circuit is damaged and bad habits are formed. According to the Center for Science in The Public Interest, “College students who first became intoxicated before age 19 are more likely to be alcohol dependent and frequent heavy drinkers. These younger drinkers are also more likely to report driving after drinking, riding with a driver who was drinking or drunk, and sustaining injuries after drinking alcohol that required medical attention.”

As a parent, what are some ways to prevent college binge drinking? Talk to your kids. Give them the facts about the dangers of college binge drinking. Share any family history of addiction that could put them at risk. And help them develop coping strategies for when various situations arise. If you think there is already a problem, contact an addiction specialist to help you address the issue.

What are some warning signs of a college binge drinking problem?

• Drastic weight loss or gain
• Changes in behavior (often times more secretive or erratic)
• Performance in school or work issues
• Legal problems

When we think of binge drinking, we usually think of college-age kids, frat parties, keg stands. Rarely do we associate binge drinking with those in middle age or retirement age. But according to research by Duke University and the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 22 percent of men (more than one in five) and 9 percent of women, age 50 – 64 engage in binge drinking. Among those over the age of 65, 14 percent of men and 3 percent of women reported binge drinking. In fact, there are a considerable number of older Americans who consume enough alcohol on a daily basis to be classified as heaving drinkers (19 percent men and 13 percent women). This debunks the myth that binge drinking is only a problem among college students.

What’s troubling about these numbers it that heavy drinking poses more health risks for people over the age of 50 than it does for people of a younger age. One reason is because their bodies metabolize alcohol less quickly. Another reason is that they may be on other medications, many that become dangerous when combined with alcohol. This demographic may also have more existing health problems that alcohol consumption can exacerbate.

“We feel that our findings are important to the public health of middle-aged and elderly persons as they point to a potentially unrecognized problem that often ‘flies beneath’ the typical screen for alcohol problems in psychiatry practices,” said one of the authors of the study as reported by Medical News Today. “Clinicians who work with this age group would be well advised to ask specifically about binge drinking.”

Not only is binge drinking often missed by common screening methods, but it is often overlooked by physicians as a health risk in older individuals because of the misperception regarding age. Doctor’s aren’t asking their older patients, because they don’t expect them to be binge drinking. Don’t disregard the possibility of binge drinking because you or a loved one is not of a certain age.