Women now drinks as much as men, with even more harmful health effects

During the last weeks in January, the former General Surgeon Dr. Vivek Murthy, requested labels of alcoholic alert To emphasize its connection that causes cancer. While most north -Americans are to a great extent unaware of that alcohol consumption increases the risk of cancer, 45% agree that having more than two drinks a day is unhealthyAccording to one Gallup survey.

Although the alcohol is a Group 1 carcinogenthat is, it is known to cause cancer in humans and the Statement of the World Health Organization That no level of alcohol consumption is safe, the consumption of drinks continues to increase. Binge consumption has increased between Adultsand hospital visits related to alcohol between Middle -aged women increased Last year.

Historically, men have consumed more alcohol than women, according to the World Health Organization. Now, the Yale program on sex differences in alcoholic disorder Reports that women in the United States have caught men, drinking and participating in harmful alcohol consumption at the same pace. By 2024, disease control and prevention centers uncovered that between 2016 and 2021, alcohol -related death rates increased by 35% in women and 27% in men. Studies also show that emergency visits related to alcohol consumption increased by 70% in women compared to 58% in men from 2006 to 2014, while alcohol -related hospitalization Almost 70% in women Against 43% in men, from 2000 to 2015.

The yale programExploring the neurological engines of alcohol consumption and disorder in women, he found that this increase in alcohol consumption and abuse among women have larger health effects that are less drinking than men. Studies have shown that women who drink have a disproportionate risk higher than men of brain damage, cognitive impairment, Cardiovascular problems, Liver damageand worsened immune function. Alcohol also increases the risk of women’s hormonal imbalances and menstrual irregularityas well as various cancers included breast cancer.

Why do women drink more?

There could be multiple factors that influence women drinking more – one of them is a change in social norms, according to Sherry McKEEProfessor of Psychiatry at the Yale School of Medicine and director of the Yale program.

“Women are now gaining more, delaying marriage and delaying childbirth,” McKee told the Yale School of Medicine (Ysm) Writing to the program. “It is believed that this can generate more time and space to drink.”

Changes in alcohol marketing is another factor that researchers consider. “We have seen that marketing towards mothers has normalized the” Culture of the Mother of Wine ” Kelly Cosgrove, Professor of Psychiatry, Neuroscience and Radiology and Biomedical Image at Ysm.

It is also increasingly clear that Covid-19 Pandemic promoted women’s drinks habits. A Study 2020 He revealed that the number of days the women reported heavy consumption of alcohol, drinks or more in a couple of hours, reached 41%.

“It had to do with the amount of time the people were at home and the stress they were in.” Marina Picciotto, He said the psychiatry professor at Ysm.

Why alcohol hits the strongest women

It is physiology: women metabolize alcohol differently than men. This is because they usually have a lower percentage of water in the body and more fat tissue than men, which translates into less liquid to dilute alcohol, making greater concentration of blood alcohol (BAC). In addition, the primary enzyme involved in alcohol metabolism can be up to 40% less active in women, according to Yale.

This means that if a woman and a man of the same age and weight drink the same amount at the same pace, the woman will still have a larger BAC.

The dangers of alcohol consumption for women

Yale reports that alcohol-related deaths increase faster among women, with less alcohol needed to get there. A Study 2023 He found that men need to drink at least 3.2 drinks a day to have a greater risk of premature death, but women only have to consume 1.8 for their risk of jumping.

“Not even two drinks a day is to put a woman at a significant risk,” McKEE said.

Although it is known that alcohol can aggravate mental health struggles, drink more at risk of the mental health of women, especially given the reasons why women are aimed at alcohol. Alcohol consumption drivers differ between men and women, Research showsWith men more often drinking to experience positive emotions and socialization, while women often have a drink to manage their stress.

Women are also less likely to help men for alcohol use disorder, according to Yale, for several reasons. Although social stigma prevents women from seeking treatment, Yale researchers emphasize that sex -related differences in alcohol consumption are not often considered in research, diagnosis and treatment.

A review to Borders in psychiatry He found that women make up only 13% of participants in alcohol withdrawal, while often medicine tests to treat alcohol consumption disorder focused mainly on men. Only 1% of dysulfiram dysulfiram participants, one of the three FDAs approved for alcohol abuse, were women, while another medication approved by the FDA, Naltrexone, is more likely to have side effects in women such as nausea and sleep alterations, making them less prone to treatment (research has not shown differences in men and women for women and women. In the third drug of FDA, Acamprosat).

Through the Yale program, researchers expect to create more well -treated alcohol treatments for women and their unique responses to drink.

“We are only at the beginning of what is the brain and body that differ between men and women who drink,” said Picciotto.

“We really have to focus on a personalized medicine perspective, especially in terms of addiction and alcohol,” McKEE added.

If you or a loved one need support for alcohol consumption, the National Institute on Alcohol and Alcoholism Abuse provides the Navigator of alcohol treatment to find a close treatment. The Yale program on sex differences in alcoholic disorder he also enrolls for medicine testing.

For more information about drinking:

• 6 ways in which the brain and body benefit -when you stop drinking alcohol
• The consumption of alcohol and drugs linked to also 3 million annual deaths worldwide
• Alcohol -fed hospital visits are Passing between middle -aged womenStudy says: “We just don’t know what this is causing this”
• The truth about alcohol and your brain: Scientists put a number during the years of heavy drinking that lifts your life

This story originally presented to Fortune.com

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