Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is a medical condition characterized by an impaired ability to stop or control alcohol use despite adverse social, occupational, or health consequences. It encompasses the conditions that some people refer to as alcohol abuse, alcohol dependence, alcohol addiction, and the colloquial term, alcoholism.
Alcohol consumption rose among adults over age 30 by 14% during the pandemic, with a 41% increase in women heavily drinking, according to a September 2020 RAND Corporation study.
Drinking to Cope
Studies have found that women are more likely to drink to cope than men, resulting in a higher risk of developing alcohol use disorder. The multiple roles and functions taking place in the home — childcare, education, household responsibilities, and wage-earning responsibilities — have fallen disproportionately to women, resulting in higher stress levels.
During the pandemic lockdown, the days in which women drank excessively (defined as four or more drinks in a few hours) increased by 41 percent and mothers with children under 5 increased their drinking by more than 300 percent.
Alcohol use in women is further complicated by the social acceptance of alcohol use as a coping strategy of motherhood as reflected in the “wine mom” culture in memes, marketing and blogs.
Metabolism of Alcohol in Women
Ethanol is the type of alcohol found in alcoholic drinks, whether they are beers, wines, liquors (distilled spirits), or other drinks. Regardless of how much a person consumes, the body can only metabolize a certain amount of alcohol every hour.
Because women have less body water than men of similar body weight, they achieve higher concentrations of alcohol in the blood after drinking equivalent amounts of alcohol.
Heavy alcohol use among women is defined as consuming more than 3 drinks on any day or more than 7 drinks per week.
The Department of Health and Human Services recommends adults limit their alcohol use to two drinks or fewer in a day for men and one drink or fewer a day for women.
- Take this Alcohol Screening Test
- Take a quick 11 question self-survey to better understand your drinking patterns.
Canyonlands Healthcare offers a confidential and affordable treatment program for alcohol and opioid misuse. Learn More Here.
Someone who experiences or exhibits at least 2 of the following signs and symptoms within a 12-month period may meet the diagnostic criteria for an alcohol use disorder (AUD):
- Using more alcohol than originally intended.
- Making unsuccessful attempts to cut back or stop drinking.
- Spending a significant amount of time and resources locating, using, and recovering from alcohol use.
- Neglecting responsibilities at work or in the home as a result of alcohol use.
- Having increased interpersonal conflict due to the use of alcohol.
- Using alcohol in risky situations, such as while driving or operating heavy machinery.
- Giving up things someone used to enjoy, like sports or hobbies, in favor of using alcohol.
- Using alcohol even though someone knows it makes a medical condition worse, such as having liver disease and still drinking. Or, using alcohol despite knowing it makes a mental health condition, such as depression, worse.
- Developing increased tolerance to alcohol, in which a person needs to continue drinking more to get the same effects as they once did from alcohol.
- Experiencing withdrawal symptoms when someone stops drinking.
American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5®)
Online recovery-based support groups:
For women specifically, several options exist (free and fee-based), among them Sober Sis, Sober Mom Squad, Women for Sobriety and Tempest. The Luckiest Club, offers several meetings a day via video, each often including hundreds of people trying to get and stay sober. Search hashtags like #SoberLiving and #SoberMovement, and you’ll find supportive communities and recovery coaches available to help.
Behavioral Health Services at Canyonlands
Our Behavior Health professionals help with stress, anxiety, depression, relationship issues and substance use disorders. For some people struggling with addiction MAT can help sustain recovery. Learn more
Serious consequences of alcohol misuse:
- Brain Damage. Among both men and women, drinking too much alcohol can cause brain cells to die and a person’s brain tissue to shrink. Alcohol-related brain damage (ARBD) is a brain disorder caused by a person regularly drinking too much alcohol, or binge-drinking, over several years.
- Alcohol-associated liver disease (ALD). Compared with men, women develop alcohol-induced liver disease over a shorter period of time and after consuming less alcohol. In addition, women are more likely than men to develop alcoholic hepatitis and to die from cirrhosis.
- Immune System Degradation Alcohol also attacks the immune system and is connected with over 60 different diseases. Despite an awareness of “clean” eating and “nontoxic” foods, ethanol is consumed frequently without regard to its toxicity.
- Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS). In a recent study, 10% of respondents who were pregnant drank alcohol and 4.5% binge drank. Alcohol use during pregnancy increases the risk of having a baby with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD). The most severe form is fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS), which is associated with intellectual disabilities and birth defects.
- Heart Disease. Women who drink excessively are at increased risk for damage to the heart muscle at lower levels of consumption and over fewer years of drinking than men.
- Cancer. Chronic ethanol consumption is a strong risk factor for the development of certain types of cancer including those of the upper aerodigestive tract, the liver, the large intestine and the female breast. Recently, the American Cancer Society changed its recommended alcohol intake to zero because of its close association with cancer.
- Alcohol and Intimate Partner Violence. 30 to 40 percent of the men and 27 to 34 percent of the women who perpetrated violence against their partners were drinking at the time of the event.
- Traffic Crashes. Although men are more likely to drive after drinking and to be involved in fatal alcohol-related crashes, women have a higher relative risk of driver fatality than men at similar blood alcohol concentrations.
- Workplace Dysfunction. Missed deadlines, strained relationships with coworkers and isolation.
