The legendary English poet compares alcohol with lechery, highlighting the likely consequences of both. However, the health consequences of alcohol consumption run the gamut from mild to severe. Being the most consumed substance in the United States, it is a significant risk factor that has the potential to cause liver and brain damage, heart diseases, breast cancer, traffic accidents, etc.

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Why Alcohol is More Harmful for Women Than Men
“It provokes the desire, but it takes away the performance.”
― William Shakespeare, Macbeth
The legendary English poet compares alcohol with lechery, highlighting the likely
consequences of both. However, the health consequences of alcohol consumption run the
gamut from mild to severe. Being the most consumed substance in the United States, it is a
significant risk factor that has the potential to cause liver and brain damage, heart diseases,
breast cancer, traffic accidents, etc.
However, the impact of
drinking alcohol pans out
differently for each person.
Besides differing from person
to person, the repercussions
are also different for men and
women. For instance, despite
drinking an equal amount,
women appear to be more
vulnerable to alcohol-related
health consequences than
men. In fact, heavy drinking
can prove to be riskier for
women than men.
Biologically, men weigh more than women; therefore, women tend to absorb more alcohol
and take longer to break down compared to men. Such gender-based physical differences can
increasingly expose a woman’s brain and organs to the toxic byproducts while taking longer
for her body to eliminate them. As a result, the immediate effects of alcohol occur more
quickly and last longer in women than men.
Drinking trends in American women
The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) states that 60 percent of
adult women in the U.S. have admitted of having at least one drink a year. However, among
this population, 13 percent have more than seven drinks per week, which is above the
recommended limits published in the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. According to the data
published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC):
 Around 46 percent of adult women reported drinking alcohol in the past month.
 Approximately 12 percent of adult women reported binge drinking three times a
month, with an average of five drinks per session.

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 About 2.5 percent of women and 4.5 percent of men met the diagnostic criteria for
alcohol dependence in the past year.
 Excessive drinking can disrupt the menstrual cycle and increase the risk of infertility.
 Women indulging in binge drinking are more likely to engage in unprotected sex and
have multiple sex partners. These factors increase the risk of unintended pregnancy
and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs).
 Nearly 10 percent of pregnant women drink alcohol; this also increases the risk of
delivering a baby with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) that cause mental
retardation and other birth defects.
Risk factors for proclivity to drinking among women
Though there is no safe drinking limit, some of the risk factors associated with alcohol use as
given below increase the chances of developing dependence on it:
 Genetics: A person may be more prone to excessive drinking if he or she has a family
history of alcohol problems.
 Early exposer: Many teenagers venture into drinking to have a good time, experiment,
relax or relieve tension. Several national surveys and complementary studies have
highlighted that early exposer to alcohol remarkably increases the chances of
developing lifetime dependence compared to those who start drinking in their 20s.
 Childhood victimization: One of the researches suggests that women with traumatic
childhood experiences related to sexual abuse and assault had a greater risk of
experiencing alcohol-related problems along with one or more symptoms of alcohol
dependence. Another study found that women who underwent treatment for alcohol
problems reported childhood sexual abuse, father-to-daughter verbal aggression or
physical violence. In addition, drinking can make women more vulnerable to sexual
assault, as well as unsafe and unprotected sex.
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Problem alcohol use among women can also lead to the development of cancer and fetal
alcohol syndrome (FAS). Several studies suggest that as little as one drink per day can increase
the risk of developing breast cancer in some women who are postmenopausal or have a family
history of cancer, although the cause is still unclear. The impact of alcohol use during
pregnancy can be even more severe as complications are borne by the woman and her unborn
child.
If you or your loved one is battling alcohol abuse, get in touch with Sovereign Detox Services.
Call us at our 24/7 helpline number 855-682-0103 to know more about our detoxification
programs and comprehensive treatment plans. Sovereign Detox Services understands the
plight of someone who has an alcohol-related problem and wishes to embrace sobriety. The
treatment of alcohol withdrawal offered by us entails naturally assisted detox, medications,
talk therapy and recovery management to assist patients gainfully take control of their lives.