For example, if she has to pick up her child from school, she may see being a little bit drunk and driving as a lesser evil than not picking up her child at all. Unfortunately, she may not be able to gauge how drunk she actually is. If you’ve ever found yourself in a dangerous situation because of drinking, you might have a problem with alcohol. Alcoholism affects not only the alcoholic but also those women and alcoholism around them as well. Someone who is under the influence of alcohol may say or do things that they normally wouldn’t if they were sober.

They Binge Drink at Least Once per Week

Similarly, binge drinking increased on average 3.7% per year among women ages 60+ while remaining stable among men ages 60+. In a meta-analysis of six national survey series covering the years 2000 through 2016, Grucza and colleagues (2018) found that rates of past-year alcohol use and binge drinking among adult women increased at more than twice the general population rate, although overall prevalence remained lower compared with men across the observation period. Countless studies show that males are more likely than females to be drinkers, and that among drinkers, males drink more heavily than females (Grant et al, 2015; Hasin et al, 2007).

Alcohol-Related Heart Disease

• 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.
• Women who drink are also at greater risk for developing breast cancer than women who do not consume alcohol.
• Women are more likely than men to suffer alcohol-induced brain damage, such as loss of mental function and reduced brain size.
• Dr. Grant says, “Yes, for some people, low doses of alcohol can increase attentiveness and activity and may reduce the risk of developing heart disease. “But, that doesn’t mean these health benefits outweigh the risk of developing an alcohol use disorder if someone engages regularly in heavy drinking, particularly in younger adults.”
• “For us to address issues with alcohol, we also need to address these pervasive issues with mental health,” White says.
• Countless studies show that males are more likely than females to be drinkers, and that among drinkers, males drink more heavily than females (Grant et al, 2015; Hasin et al, 2007).

These studies have also been unable to provide a solution to this problem. Anyone who has struggled to overcome alcohol dependence or an alcohol abuse problem knows how difficult aprocess recovery can be. But the evidence suggests that women are just as likely to recover as men once theybegin treatment—a glimmer of hope that may make the journey to recovery worth trying.

Why Do Women Face Higher Risks?

A large study of women who quit drinking demonstrated an improvement in their mental well-being. Talk to a trusted friend, relative or your health care team if you need help. 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. Another sign of women’s alcohol addiction is the need to keep increasing the number of drinks to get the same buzz.

Cravings to Drink

They’re at greater risk for hangovers, blackouts, liver disease, alcohol-induced cardiovascular diseases and certain cancers. One study found alcohol-related visits to the emergency room from 2006 to 2014 increased 70% for women, compared with 58% for men. Another paper reported that the rate of alcohol-related cirrhosis from 2009 to 2015 rose 50% for women, compared with 30% for men. Studies show that women start to have alcohol-related problems sooner and at lower drinking amounts than men and for multiple reasons.3 On average, women weigh less than men. Also, alcohol resides predominantly in body water, and pound for pound, women have less water in their bodies than men. This means that after a woman and a man of the same weight drink the same amount of alcohol, the woman’s blood alcohol concentration (the amount of alcohol in the blood) will tend to be higher, putting her at greater risk for harm.