For the first time in history, rates of heavy drinking among women are catching up with those of men, and rates of alcohol-related deaths are rising faster among women than men.
Although many women may pride themselves on being able to handle alcohol, more than ever they drink themselves sick.
Rates of alcohol use disorder have traditionally been much higher among men, according to Yale psychiatry professor Dr. Sherry McKee, but over the decades they have been converging “and those rates are getting very close to one to one.”
The increasing number of women who drink excessively is having devastating consequences and death rates for women due to alcohol are increasing almost 30 per cent faster than for men.
Men still outnumber women in terms of alcohol-related deaths (approximately 120,000 male deaths versus 59,000 female deaths), but alcohol has a much greater impact on women’s health, including an increased risk of brain damage and cancer.
Alcohol suppresses another brain chemical, glutamate, which is responsible for brain activity and energy levels, leading to a slowing of thoughts and feelings.
Alcohol-related deaths are increasing in both women and men, but they are rising faster in women.
Women appear to drink at a higher rate than men. An analysis of six different surveys concluded that between 2000 and 2016, the number of women aged 18 or older who drink each year grew by six percent but decreased by 0.2 percent for men.
Meanwhile, the number of women who drink excessively rose by 14 percent, but only by 0.5 percent among men.
Women have more fatty tissue than men, fatty tissue in which alcohol cannot dissolve, so toxins remain in the bloodstream longer, giving the alcohol enough time to wreak havoc on the body, damaging the brain and destroying the heart and blood vessels.
It has recently been postulated, despite now-debunked claims that a glass of red wine with dinner is heart-healthy, that no amount of alcohol is safe.
It is recommended that women consume no more than seven drinks per week, one per day, while men can drink 14 drinks per week, or two or less in a day.
Exceeding these guidelines and drinking excessively may cause brain damage more quickly in women than in men, but the true extent of the damage and how quickly it appears are still under investigation.
Dr McKee said: ‘Women are more vulnerable to the neurotoxic effects of alcohol, which means more neurodegeneration.
We believe there is a general process of inflammation that is more likely to occur in women than in men as a result of alcohol consumption, and this is partly one of the reasons why women are more susceptible to or have health risks exacerbated by alcohol consumption.
Neurotoxic effects can cause a variety of symptoms, from a reduction in brain volume, brain shrinkage, brain cell deathnerve fiber breakage and inflammatory stress.
Alcohol activates the brain’s immune system and a specific type of receptor responsible for detecting harmful invaders such as bacteria and viruses and alerting the body.
But chronic alcohol consumption can make this receptor more sensitive than normal and keep it on high alert, generating an exaggerated immune response that can end up damaging the body and increasing inflammation.
Although men still outnumber women on most alcohol-related measures, the gaps are narrowing.
In a 2013 experiment, this was observed to happen in mice. Chronic alcohol exposure caused inflammation, cell damage and brain cell loss in both male and female mice, but the effects were more pronounced in females.
Researchers have found that long-term alcohol consumption causes brain damage by activating the immune response in brain cells.
Women are often underrepresented in medical research, meaning many questions about how alcohol specifically affects the female body remain unanswered.
One thing researchers know for sure is that women have a higher ratio of water to fat, meaning that women tend to have more body fat than men but a lower percentage of total body water.
Alcohol does not dissolve in fat, only in water. Therefore, men, who have a higher percentage of body water, tend to have less alcohol circulating in their bloodstream than women, even if they drank the same amount.
Dr. Julia Adamian, an internist at New York University Langone Hospital, said: ‘Three drinks in men and three drinks in women have a different effect.
‘Women would have higher blood alcohol levels due to this higher proportion of fat and water. The immediate effect (of intoxication) will be much faster and (alcohol) lasts longer in the blood.’
Women’s bodies also produce less of an enzyme called alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH), which is released by the liver and breaks down alcohol in the body.
Past-month alcohol consumption and reports of drunkenness among women, both on and off campus, exceed levels among their male counterparts.
Women whose deaths are linked to long-term alcohol use are due to chronic diseases, “while most men who die from alcohol do so from acute causes, such as an accident,” according to Dr. McKee.
She added: “Women have a faster progression of alcohol use disorder, are more susceptible to fainting, liver disease, heart disease, cognitive deficits and certain types of cancer.”
‘In addition, they have greater cognitive deficits, greater effects on the cardiovascular system and a higher incidence of certain types of cancer.’
In addition to alcohol-related deaths, emergency room visits for alcohol-related problems are higher in women than in men.
Between 2006 and 2014, men had more alcohol-related emergency room visits overall, although the rate of these visits increased faster among women than among men during the study period: 5.3 percent annually for women. compared to four percent of men.
This increase was mainly due to a greater increase in emergency room visits related to chronic alcohol abuse among women, which grew by about seven percent annually, compared to 4.5 percent among men.
Alcohol has been shown to damage organs including the brain, nervous system, heart, liver, and pancreas.
Alcohol itself is a toxin that causes cellular damage and inflammation as it is metabolized.
It can increase blood pressure and contribute to the development of heart disease, interfere with the body’s ability to absorb nutrients, and suppress the immune system.
Compared with women with no history of heavy drinking, those with a history of heavy drinking have approximately 10% more history of heavy drinking. 45 percent more risk of heart disease, while moderate drinkers have a 29 percent higher risk.
Drinking more than three drinks a day may also increase your risk of pancreatic and stomach cancer.
Moderate or excessive alcohol consumption has been linked to a 1.5 times higher risk of colorectal cancer, a two-fold increased risk of liver cancer, and a five-fold increased risk of oral cancer.
When the body metabolizes alcohol, it produces acetaldehyde, a toxic compound that can damage DNA and proteins in cells, leading to mutations and possible cancer cell growth.
It may also increase estrogen levels in women, which has been linked to an increased risk of developing breast and other hormone-related cancers.