A review of data from 14 separate studies indicates that even occasional binge-drinking at irregular intervals may undo any heart health benefits associated with alcohol consumption. According to lead researcher Michael Roerecke of the Center for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto, Canada, the study reinforces the fact that "not all alcohol consumption is good for health."

Light and moderate drinking, which means consuming one or two drinks per day or less, has long been considered a potential boon for heart health. Upon review of over a dozen studies on moderate drinkers, however, researchers found that individuals who drink heavily every so often were up to 45 percent more likely than light or moderate drinkers to develop coronary heart disease.

Coronary heart disease occurs when plaque buildup in the heart arteries impedes the flow of blood and oxygen. For the purposes of the review, occasional heavy drinking was defined as consuming five or more drinks in a day at least a dozen times per year. Regular heavy drinkers (those who consume an average of five or more drinks per day) were excluded from the study.

To arrive at these findings, Roerecke and colleague Jurgen Rehm combined 14 international studies conducted between 1982 and 2006, including data from more than 50,000 drinkers.

(Source: reuters.com)

Labels: alcohol, binge-drinking, health

The U.S. Army's second in command, general Peter Chiarelli, stated this week that the Army needs to double its substance abuse treatment staff in order to handle increased troop demand for alcohol abuse treatment. The statement came during an interview with USA Today.

According to Army data, last year 9,199 solders enrolled in substance abuse treatment after being diagnosed with alcohol problems. This represents a 56 percent increase over 2003, when the war in Iraq started. Overall, 16,388 soldiers requested some type of counseling last year. In 2003, 5,783 enrolled in substance abuse treatment and 11,309 soldiers sought counseling.

General Chiarelli commented: "There's no doubt in my mind that since 2001 and being involved in two wars ... that we probably have a higher incidence of alcohol abuse."

According to Les McFarling, director of the Army's Substance Abuse Program, the Army treatment program is down 20 percent from its authorized staffing level of 290. McFarling says that most soldiers seek treatment for alcohol problems after an incident, such as being cited for drunk driving. In addition, alcoholism is a much larger problem than drug abuse, with approximately 85 percent of the Army treatment program's caseload being alcohol-related.

(Source: USAToday.com)

Labels: alcohol, substance abuse

Older adults who have more money, engage in more social activities and whose friends approve more of drinking are more likely to drink excessively or engage in other high-risk drinking behaviors, according to a new study appearing in the April 2010 issue of Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research.

Rudolf H. Moos, senior research career scientist for the Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care System in Palo Alto, Calif., and corresponding author for the study, commented on the significance of the study's focus: "Ours is one of the first studies to focus longitudinally on high-risk drinking among older adults ... and the first to have 10-year and 20-year follow-ups addressing this issue."

For the study, Moos and his team collected data from 719 adults (399 men, 320 women), aged 55 to 65 at baseline; then they collected data again 10 years and 20 years later. The researchers found that older adults with greater financial resources, more social activities and friends who approved of drinking were more likely to engage in high-risk drinking. For the purposes of the study, high-risk drinking was defined as more than three drinks per day or more than 14 drinks per week.

Moos commented on the findings: "Our findings show that, one, certain social factors may enhance the chances of an individual engaging in high-risk drinking and, two, once high-risk drinking has developed, social choices may be made to facilitate continuing this behavior. Older adults who engage in high-risk alcohol consumption tend to select friends who are more likely to drink and to approve of drinking.

"They may also experience a decline in the quality of relationships with extended family members, that is, high-risk drinking may impair some family relationships. Compared to older women, older men may be more vulnerable or susceptible to some social influences on drinking. Specifically, having more money, and friends who approve more of drinking, seem to be more closely related to high-risk drinking among older men than among older women."

(Source: sciencedaily.com)

Labels: alcohol

A new study out of Brazil indicates that heavy alcohol use is associated with greater risk for memory and cognitive problems among the elderly than mild or moderate alcohol use. This correlation seems especially strong among older women.

Marcos Antonio Lopes, corresponding author for the study, commented on the findings: "We found that heavy alcohol use among the elderly people we investigated was high at 8.2 percent and affected principally men from low socioeconomic levels. However, the effects of heavy alcohol use on memory and other cognitive functions were more evident in women."

The study authors cite a crucial lack of research on the effects of drinking among the elderly. This results largely from the fact that most studies of cognitive decline in elderly individuals exclude participants who drink heavily.

Jerson Laks, associate professor at the State University of Rio de Janeiro and a researcher with the Brazilian National Committee for Research, explained, "Alcohol use is frequently an exclusion criterion for any study of cognition and dementia in the elderly, as well as in studies aimed at depression. Therefore, by simply excluding alcohol use and abuse, most studies cannot reveal the interaction between drinking behaviors and cognition in this age range.

"This study shows that older people keep drinking along the life span. Taking into consideration that drinking may lead to falls and to cognitive impairment when heavy use is the case, this study creates important awareness about this issue."

(Source: sciencedaily.com)

Labels: alcohol, elderly

According to new research by a team of scientists at The Scripps Research Institute, a specific stress hormone is key to the development and maintenance of alcohol dependence. The researchers found that by blocking the stress hormone corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF), they could also block the symptoms of addiction. This correlation suggests a promising concept for developing a drug to treat alcohol dependence.

The research, which occurred over the six-year period, will appear in an article in an upcoming print edition of the journal Biological Psychiatry.

Associate Professor Marisa Roberta, lead researcher, commented on the findings: "I'm excited about this study. It represents an important step in understanding how the brain changes when it moves from a normal to an alcohol-dependent state."

The study not only confirms the central role of CRF in alcohol dependence, but it also shows that CRF can be successfully blocked on a long-term basis (at least in rats) to alleviate the symptoms of alcohol dependence. This is the first study to do so.

Roberta further commented: "Research to understand alcoholism is important for society. Our study explored what we call in the field 'the dark side' of alcohol addiction. That's the compulsion to drink, not because it is pleasurable -- which has been the focus of much previous research -- but because it relieves the anxiety generated by abstinence and the stressful effects of withdrawal."

(Source: www.sciencedaily.com)

Labels: alcohol, brain_chemistry

According to recent research conducted by the University of California, San Francisco, daily, heavy drinking may increase the risk of high-grade prostate cancer. Dr. Zhihong Gong, Ph.D., and researchers used data from more than 10,000 men participating in the Prostate Cancer Prevention Trial (PCPT) to study the effects of alcohol consumption.

The identified participants who reported heavy alcohol consumption (50 grams or more per day) and regular heavy drinking (four or more drinks per day on five or more days per week) and found that these participants were twice as likely to be diagnosed with high-grade prostate cancer.

Moderate alcohol consumption was not found to carry the same risk.

(Source: www.sciencedaily.com)

Labels: alcohol, binge-drinking, cancer

According to a 2005 study published in the journal Injury Prevention, New Year's Day is the most deadly day of the year for pedestrians. From 1986 to 2002, 410 pedestrians were killed on New Year's Day, and 58 percent of them had high blood alcohol levels.

Data from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety also show that alcohol has a high rate of involvement in pedestrian deaths throughout the year. In 2007, 37 percent of fatally injured pedestrians aged 16 or older had blood alcohol concentrations above 0.08 percent. Of pedestrians who were killed at night, over half (54 percent) had high blood alcohol levels.

According to Dr. Thomas Esposito, a trauma surgeon at Loyola University Health System in Illinois, alcohol consumption makes people prone to all types of injuries:

"It's not just walking outside. All the time we see people who have been drinking that have fallen down the stairs or tripped at home and injured themselves. Others have decided to pick a fight using a knife or with someone holding a gun. Alcohol impairs your physical ability to walk and to drive. It impairs your judgment, reflexes and coordination. It's nothing more than a socially acceptable, over-the-counter stimulant/depressant."

According to Esposito, from July 2008 to June 2009, 86 patients aged 16 or older were treated at Loyola after being struck by cars. Of these, 18 (21 percent) were found to have alcohol in their systems. Of those, 14 (78 percent) had blood alcohol concentrations of 0.08 percent or higher.

(Source: www.sciencedaily.com)

Labels: alcohol

Contrary to popular belief, drinking coffee does not counteract the effects of alcohol, according to a new study. The opposite is true, in fact -- coffee may make it more difficult for drinkers to know when they are drunk.

The study, conducted by researchers at Temple University, utilized mice as subjects. Mice who received doses of both alcohol and caffeine did become more alert but still exhibited impaired judgment and learning, such as an inability to avoid things they should have known would hurt them.

Thomas Gould, Ph.D., study-co author commented: "The myth about coffee's sobering powers is particularly important to debunk because the co-use of caffeine and alcohol could actually lead to poor decisions with disastrous outcomes.

"People who have consumed only alcohol, who feel tired and intoxicated, may be more likely to acknowledge that they are drunk. Conversely, people who have consumed both alcohol and caffeine may feel awake and competent enough to handle potentially harmful situations, such as driving while intoxicated or placing themselves in dangerous social situations."

(Source: www.sciencedaily.com)

Labels: alcohol, caffeine

According to a new annual report released by the Indiana Collegiate Action Network, binge drinking among Indiana college students has increased by 4 percent over the past year and currently surpasses the national average by 8 percent.

In 2009, 48 percent of Indiana college students reported binge drinking in a two-week period, compared to 44 percent in 2008. Nationally, the rate of college binge drinking declined from 47 percent in 2008 to 40 percent in 2009.

The 2009 Indiana College Substance Use Survey collected responses from 5,000 students. Of students who participated and reported drinking, 30 percent admitted feeling bad about their drinking; 19 percent said they had missed a class or assignment because of drinking; 17 percent confessed to driving while under the influence of alcohol; and 12 percent reported engaging in risky sexual behavior because they were drinking.

(Source: www.jconline.com)

Labels: alcohol, binge-drinking

Some scientists are calling for a ban on alcohol industry sponsorship of sports and say that it should be replaced with an alcohol tax. The British and Australian scientists authored a highly publicized study in 2008 that showed that alcohol industry sponsorship of professional and community sports was associated with risky drinking behaviors among sports participants. Based on this study, the authors have published an article in the latest edition of the international journal Addiction calling on governments to outlaw alcohol industry sponsorship of sports.

Dr. Kypros Kypri from Newcastle University in Australia, one of the study authors, commented: "The latest moves by the major sporting codes in Australia to lobby against the regulation of alcohol sponsorship of sport show that these bodies remain in denial of alcohol-related problems in their sports. In addition, it is clear that these organisations have enormous vested interests in continuing to receive alcohol money and government should be careful to act in the public interest rather than to cave in to the sports and Big Booze.."

Dr. Kerry O'Brien from the University of Manchester in Britain, study co-author, commented: "Sport administrators are sending mixed messages to participants and fans when, on the one hand, they embrace and peddle alcohol via their sport, while on the other they punish individual sport stars and fans when they display loutish behaviour while intoxicated."

(Source: www.sciencedaily.com)

Labels: alcohol, sports

According to a new study by the University of Maryland Center for Substance Abuse Research and the Harvard School of Medicine, Worcester County has the highest number of substance abuse arrests in the state and has more people in need of substance abuse treatment services than any other area except Baltimore City.

The study utilized data from 2001 to 2005, and the report was presented last week to state government leaders.

Local health leaders attribute the high arrest rates to the annual influx of summer visitors to Ocean City; however, the health department cites binge drinking as an increasing concern in the county, especially among residents in rural areas. The director of the Worcester County Health Department, Doris Moxley, stated that at least 50 percent of addicts discharged from treatment programs have used drugs within the last 30 days. According to Ms. Moxley, alcohol, marijuana and cocaine are the most commonly abused substances in the county.

In addition, Ms. Moxley commented that drug abuse may be increasing due to the recent economic recession, which commenced after the study period: "When people are stressed out, [drug use] tends to be one of the coping factors people use."

(Source: www.wboc.com)

Labels: alcohol, binge-drinking, cocaine, marijuana, substance abuse

A recent Georgia Youth Risk Survey found that underage drinking is a growing problem in the state. The survey collected answers from nearly 2,400 high school students, and approximately 38 percent reported binge-drinking (consuming five or more alcoholic drinks in a row) at least once in the month prior to the survey.

The survey also found that teen drinkers are more likely to drink hard alcohol than beer, including bourbon, rum, scotch, vodka and whiskey. Beer was the second most popular type of alcoholic beverage, followed by malt liquor and wine coolers.

Approximately 58 percent of respondents reported drinking in someone else's home, and fewer than 30 percent did so in their own homes. Teen also reported drinking at restaurants, bars, public places and events, on school property, and even while riding in or driving a car.

In a recent report by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse about underage drinking, Vice President Elizabeth Planet commented: "The message is loud and clear. If your teen is drinking, the odds are your teen is getting drunk. And teens who get drunk are much likelier to try marijuana and hang out with friends who are abusing prescription drugs and illegal drugs."

(Source: www.northwestgeorgia.com)

Labels: alcohol, binge-drinking, teens

About 15 percent of full-time workers in the amusement, gambling and recreation industries admit to being heavy alcohol users, and about 10 percent report past-month illicit drug use.

According to the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's (SAMHSA) 2007 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, approximately three-quarters of all illicit drug users 18 and older are employed, and one industry often identified as having a high rate of illicit drug users is the gaming industry.

The SAMHSA report also revealed high rates of substance abuse among workers who service the gaming industry, including repair and maintenance workers, food and beverage workers, and landscaping workers. Among repair and maintenance workers, 11.6 percent reported past-month illicit drug use and 15.3 percent reported alcohol use.

Among food and beverage workers, 18.4 percent reported past-month illicit drug use and 12.8 percent reported heavy alcohol abuse. Among landscaping workers, 14.4 percent reported past-month illicit drug use and 16.5 percent reported heavy alcohol use.

(Source: www.indiancountrytoday.com)

Labels: alcohol, drugs, substance abuse

A new study published in the American Journal of Psychiatry indicates that binge drinking may be more common among adults aged 50 and older than previously thought.

According to the study, 23 percent of men and 9 percent of women between the ages of 50 and 64 reported drinking at least five alcoholic beverages per day within the month prior to the study.

Carol Colleran, author of Aging and Addiction: Helping Older Adults Overcome Alcohol and Medication Dependence, commented: "This is not a teenage problem. This is not a college-level problem. This is a problem that is existing in today's boomer population."

(Source: abcnews.go.com)

Labels: alcohol, binge-drinking

In a high-profile story this week, Diane Schuler, 36, of New York, drove the wrong way for nearly two miles on the Taconic State Parkway before causing a head-on collision with three men in an SUV. The crash killed Ms. Schuler, her 2-year-old daughter, her three young nieces, and the three men in the other vehicle.

Ms. Schuler's autopsy report revealed that she had consumed the equivalent of 10 drinks and smoked marijuana within an hour of the crash. A broken 1.75-liter bottle of Absolut vodka was found inside her wrecked minivan. Her blood alcohol level was more than twice the state's legal limit and she still had undigested alcohol in her stomach.

Ms. Schuler's husband denied, during a press conference, ever seeing his wife drunk during their entire marriage and refused to accept the autopsy findings. Meanwhile, families of the three men in the SUV are questioning how Schuler's family could have ignored what was, apparently, a substantial substance abuse problem. The families are considering pressing criminal charges.

Marc Galanter, director of the Division of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse at New York University, commented: "Families are often in denial and can't deal with the reality that a family member has a problem."

(Source: Associated Press)

Labels: alcohol, marijuana, substance abuse

According to a researcher at Baylor University, certain individuals may possess a genetic predisposition to stress which may increase the chances that they will abuse drugs and/or alcohol. A cluster of genes on chromosome one was shown to respond to stress in animal models, and could be partly responsible for the alcohol and substance abuse that many people engage in as a reaction to stress.

The Baylor University researcher who discovered the link, Doug Matthews, professor of psychology and neuroscience at Baylor, commented on the findings: "Humans report that they drink because of stress, and we've been able to identify a region on chromosome one that responds to both stress and, other studies have shown, responds to drug-taking behavior.

"So, we have reason to believe that there's a gene or a constellation of genes that might influence or control drug-taking behavior. This is a behavior that isn't a simple reflex. It involves high-level functioning -- motivation, emotion, memory -- that kind of stuff. So, what we're looking at here is a genetic vulnerability for stress that could lead to increased drug-taking."

(Source: www.wacotrib.com)

Labels: alcohol, substance abuse

This week, Florida released its 2009 Drug Control Strategy report. The report, which received applause from Governor Charlie Crist, establishes guidelines for policy recommendations for the administration. The recommendations are designed to promote health and drug abuse awareness among Florida's families and communities.

Governor Crist commented on the need for drug education and awareness in order to support family unity:

"As we celebrate Florida's record-setting year of adoptions this week, it is important to remain vigilant in our diversion efforts to help as many families stay together as possible. There is an undeniable link between drug and alcohol abuse and the abuse of so many of the children who end up in our state system. In many cases, drug abuse has been the root cause of neglect, abuse, poverty and despair that leaves these precious children without homes to call their own."

Lt. Governor Jeff Kottkamp, who oversees operation of the Governor's Office of Drug Control, echoed the governor's sentiment: "Substance abuse and addiction threaten the health and safety of Florida's children, families and communities. The dangers posed by illegal drug use, underage drinking, and prescription drug diversion and abuse require a bold and comprehensive response."

(Source: www.floridanewswire.com)

Labels: alcohol, drug-abuse

According to a report released this week, drug- and alcohol-related crimes cost West Virginia $333 million across fiscal years 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2008. The report analyzes the costs of crimes that are either directly or indirectly linked to drugs and/or alcohol.

The report, produced by the Prevention Resource Center for the governor-appoint Partnership to Promote Community Well-Being, shows rapidly increasing costs for 11 of 12 participating public agencies, including courts and law enforcement. Based on this trend, the report projects that West Virginia will be spending around $500 on drug-related crime by 2017.

The report concludes: "Substance abuse places an enormous financial burden on West Virginia's criminal justice system. The alarming fact is the burden will continue to grow unless urgent actions are taken to provide the continuum of care necessary to stem this growth."

Labels: alcohol, drugs

According to a new government study released this week, Hawaii has one of the nation's highest rates of alcohol addiction, but has the lowest rate of any state for drug dependence.

According to the study, more than 4 percent of Hawaii residents over the age of 12 are addicted to alcohol. Only Montana and the District of Columbia had higher rates of alcohol addiction, and the national average is 3.4 percent.

By contrast, only 1.4 percent of Hawaiians reported drug dependence -- the lowest of any state and well below the national average of 1.9 percent. The study was conducted by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration, an agency of the U.S. Health and Human Services Department.

(Source: www.starbulletin.com)

Labels: addiction, alcohol, drugs

Drugs approved for the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer may help fight alcohol addiction, according to new research from the University of California, San Francisco.

The drugs, which inhibit a receptor for the Epidermal Growth Factor (EGF), have been shown to cause rats to spontaneously consume less alcohol when it was freely available to them, while their consumption of sugar water remained the same. In addition, flies and mice treated with this class of drugs grew more sensitive to alcohol.

(Source: www.sciencedaily.com)

Labels: addiction, alcohol, treatment

A new study indicates that chronic smoking interferes with an individual's ability to recover from alcohol-related brain damage. Individuals with Alcohol Use Disorders (AUDs) often experience damage to the brain, but usually at least part of this damage is reversible.

However, researchers at the University of California at San Francisco have found that smoking may prevent reversible damage from being reversed because smoking limits brain blood flow. In particular, the frontal and parietal corticles are affected.

Anderson Mon, a researcher at UCSF, explains the significance of the finding: "With abstinence from alcohol, brain perfusion abnormalities may recover [from AUDs], but there are several factors that may influence recovery, such as age, diet, exercise, genetic predispositions and -- the topic of our research -- other substances such as tobacco products. In short, prolonged and excessive alcohol consumption is bad for your brain, but a combination of alcohol with smoking is worse."

(Source: http://www.sciencedaily.com/)

Labels: alcohol, recovery, smoking

The National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA) has developed a new set of online tools for physicians to use when screening patients for tobacco, alcohol, illicit drug and nonmedical prescription drug use.

One online screening tool is designed for use during routine office visits. The tool provides a set of questions designed to determine the frequency of use of an array of substances, including tobacco, alcohol, sedatives and prescription opioids.

NIDA Director Nora Volkow, MD, commented on the need for such tools, "Many patients do not discuss drug use with their physicians, and do not receive treatment even when their drug abuse escalates ... [these tools enable the physician to be] the first line of defense against substance abuse and addiction."

(Source: www.ama-assn.org)

Labels: addiction, alcohol, prescription-drug-abuse, tobacco

The federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) has designated April as Alcohol Awareness Month. The designation is an effort to recognize the serious problem of alcohol abuse in the United States, and raise awareness about the signs and symptoms of alcohol abuse.

According to SAMHSA, alcohol abuse affects Americans in many different demographics, including "college students who binge drink at local bars; pregnant women who drink and put their babies at risk for fetal alcohol syndrome; professionals who drink after a long day of work; and senior citizens who drink out of loneliness."

SAMHSA's National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) indicates that in 2007, nearly one in four individuals age 12 and older participated in binge drinking at least once during the 30 days prior to the survey. This means that approximately 57.8 million people participated in this dangerous behavior.

(Source: ncadi.samhsa.gov)

Labels: alcohol, binge-drinking

Democratic Senator Marian Walsh and Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick are proposing to lift an exemption on the tax of alcohol bought in stores. Massachusetts residents currently pay five cents on the dollar of alcohol tax when they purchase drinks in restaurants and bars. The new proposal would extend the tax to alcohol purchased at stores. The Senator and Governor believe that the tax would raise additional revenues that would help to address the state's current budget gap of $1.1 billion. Experts estimate that the new tax could raise $90 million annually in additional funding.

The proposal is circulating in two versions - Walsh's and Patrick's. Walsh's version would divert some of the additional revenue into a trust to fund addiction treatment; Patrick's version would use some of the funds to create a wellness fund that would support substance abuse treatment programs. Patrick's version also includes an additional tax on soda and candy that would raise an additional $40 million to address obesity problems in the state. (Sources: www.wickedlocal.com)

Labels: alcohol, costs, tax

By Linda Hepler

Alcohol affects every organ in the body, and chronic heavy use of alcohol may cause some of the following problems:

Central Nervous System

Long-term effects of alcohol on the brain and nervous system can cause problems with intellectual functioning (memory loss), disturbances in sensory and motor control, and emotional and behavioral instability.

Circulatory system

Heavy alcohol use can cause the red cells to clump together, resulting in the constriction of small blood vessels and a loss of oxygen delivery to cells to all areas of the body, including the brain. It may also cause a decrease in the number of red and white blood cells, leaving the body at risk for infection and unable to fight off infections when they occur.

Endocrine system

The endocrine system is responsible for producing hormones. Heavy alcohol use depresses this production, causing a number of problems - including impaired sexual functioning.

Gastrointestinal system

Alcohol use increases stomach acids, which can lead to irritation and ulcers. It can also impair the function of the pancreas, an organ that helps to regulate the amount of sugar in the blood, which may result in diabetes.

Liver

The liver has many functions, including the production of bile that helps to digest fatty foods; the storage and release of sugar; and the removal of poisons and toxins from the body. Regular heavy use of alcohol can upset the balance of the liver and disrupt these functions.

One serious alcohol-related problem is a build-up of fat, called "fatty liver." If alcohol use continues, the liver cells can become inflamed (alcoholic hepatitis) and eventually die, causing a hardened, scarred - and nonfunctional - liver. This condition is called cirrhosis, and may lead to death.

Muscular system

Alcohol reduces the amount of blood that reaches the muscles, including the heart. This reduced blood flow can cause heart weakness and, eventually, failure.

Labels: alcohol, alcoholism

A region of the human genome has been identified as determining how strongly drinkers feel the effects of alcohol. Researchers at the University of California, San Francisco Ernest Gallo Clinic and Research Center found that a DNA sequence variation on chromosome 15 was significantly related to the human body's response to alcohol, and therefore to whether certain individuals are more prone to alcoholism.

Raymond L. White, PhD, director of the Gallo Center and senior author of the paper, commented on the findings:

"By understanding which portion of our genetic makeup influences our response to alcohol, we can begin to understand what type of treatments might be most successful in helping reduce alcohol use disorders." (Sources: sciencedaily.com)

Labels: alcohol, alcoholism, genetics

Most studies have found that men are not only more likely to drink alcohol but more likely to consume greater amounts. And yet women are at greater risk of developing alcohol-related problems, and are more affected when they drink.

Because women's bodies have less water than men's, alcohol is less diluted, making women more susceptible to the impairments caused by alcohol. They are also more susceptible to alcohol-related organ damage for this same reason.

Reproductive function can also be affected, especially during puberty. Studies have found that normal reproductive development can be hindered in someone who drinks moderate amounts of alcohol on a regular basis. Heavy drinking can cause disruptions in the menstrual cycle, and increase the risk of infertility and miscarriages.

Because the body is still developing during the teenage years, adolescent girls who drink heavily may hinder development of a region of the brain called the hippocampus. This area is associated with memory and learning, and studies have found that it's noticeably smaller in girls who abuse alcohol.

Pregnant women who drink run the risk of having a child with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS). FAS children not only have significant behavioral and/or learning disabilities, but their growth is often retarded. Even small amounts of alcohol consumption have been shown to affect learning and behavior. In fact, studies have not yet found a "safe minimum," at which exposure to alcohol doesn't negatively affect an unborn child.

One good thing alcohol can do for women is reduce the risk of coronary heart disease. Coronary heart disease is the leading cause of death among American women, causing one out of every three deaths. The risk to women is highest after menopause, possibly due to decreased levels of estrogen. Studies have found that light or moderate consumption of alcohol could increase estrogen levels, helping prevent coronary heart disease.

Light to moderate alcohol consumption can also reduce the risk of osteoporosis in post-menopausal women. The reasons are thought to be the same; that estrogen is increased, which leads to increased bone density, which then reduces the risk of fracture.

Despite these two potential benefits of light to moderate drinking, in general alcohol consumption is detrimental to a woman's health. Regardless of her age, serious medical consequences can result from excessive drinking. Any woman who struggles with overuse of alcohol should seek help immediately from a trusted friend, medical professional, or alcoholism treatment program.

Labels: alcohol, long-term-effects, women