Consumption and Dependence

• Studies of the general population indicate that fewer women than men drink. Women are also less likely than men to drink heavily (heavy alcohol use is defined as drinking five or more drinks per occasion on five or more days in the past 30 days). 1

• It is estimated that of the 15.1 million alcohol-abusing or alcohol-dependent individuals in the United States, approximately 4.6 million (nearly one-third) are women. 2

Physical Effects of Alcohol on Women

• Women become intoxicated after drinking smaller quantities of alcohol than are needed to produce intoxication in men. 3

• Chronic heavy alcohol consumption exacts a greater physical toll on women than on men. Female alcoholics have death rates 50 to 100 percent higher than those of male alcoholics. A greater percentage of female alcoholics also die from suicides, alcohol-related injuries, circulatory disorders, and cirrhosis of the liver. 4

• Increasing evidence suggests that the detrimental effects of alcohol on the liver are more severe for women than for men. Women develop alcoholic liver disease, particularly alcoholic cirrhosis and hepatitis, after a comparatively shorter period of heavy drinking and at a lower level of daily drinking than men. 5

• Women who drink may also be at an increased risk for breast cancer. In one study, women who drank two to five alcoholic drinks each day were 41 percent more likely to develop breast cancer than nondrinkers. 6

Drinking During Pregnancy

• Alcohol use during pregnancy is the leading preventable cause of mental retardation in the United States. Researchers in Seattle, Washington estimate that fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) or alcohol-related neurodevelopmental disorder (ARND) occurs in one of every 100 live births. 7

Women and Recovery

• In a follow-up study among men and women who completed recovery programs, abstinence was slightly higher among women than among men. 8

• Lack of childcare is one of the most frequently reported barriers to recovery services for alcoholic women. 9

Domestic Violence and Alcohol

While researchers acknowledge a strong association between domestic violence and drinking by the assailant, alcohol abuse does not cause domestic violence.

•  In one study of female domestic violence survivors admitted to emergency departments, women whose partners abused alcohol were 3.6 times more likely than other women to be assaulted by their partners. In the same study, women's drinking was not clearly associated with the risk of being a victim of domestic violence. 10

1. SAMHSA/OAS, National Household Survey on Drug Abuse: Main Findings 1997. DHHS Pub. No. (SMA)99-3295, 1999 SAMHSA/OAS, National Household Survey on Drug Abuse: Main Findings 1996. DHHS Pub. No. (SMA)98-3200, 1998. SAMHSA/OAS, National Household Survey on Drug Abuse: Main Findings 1995. DHHS Pub. No. (SMA)97-3127, 1997. SAMHSA/OAS, National Household Survey on Drug Abuse: Main Findings 1994. DHHS Pub. No. (SMA)96-3085, 1996.

2. WILLIAMS, G.D.; Grant, B.F.; Harford, T.C.; and Noble, B.A. Population projections using DSM-III criteria: Alcohol abuse and dependence, 1990-2000. Alcohol Health & Research World 13(4):366-370, 1989.

3. JONES, B.M., & Jones, M.K. Women and alcohol: Intoxication, metabolism and the menstrual cycle. In: Greenblatt, M., and Schuckit, M.A., eds. Alcoholism Problems in Women and Children. New York: Grune & Stratton, 1976. pp. 103-136.

4. HILL, S.Y. Biological consequences of alcoholism and alcohol-related problems among women. In: Special Populations Issues. National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. Alcohol and Health Monograph No. 4. DHHS Pub. No. (ADM)82-1193. Washington, DC: Supt. of Docs., U.S. Govt. Print. Off., 1982. pp. 43-73.

5. SAUNDERS, J.B.; Davis, M.; and Williams, R. Do women develop alcoholic liver disease more readily than men? British Medical Journal 282:1140-1143, 1981. TUYNS, A.J., & Pequignot, G. Greater risk of ascitic cirrhosis in females in relation to alcohol consumption. International Journal of Epidemiology 13(1):53-57, 1984. and at a lower level of daily drinking than men.

6. LONGNECKER, M.P.; Berlin, J.A.; Orza, M.J.; and Chalmers, T.C. A meta-analysis of alcohol consumption in relation to risk of breast cancer. Journal of the American Medical Association 260(5):652-656, 1988.

7. Teratology 1997 Nov;56(5):317-26 Incidence of fetal alcohol syndrome and prevalence of alcohol-related neurodevelopmental disorder. Sampson P.D., Streissguth A.P., Bookstein F.L., Little R.E., Clarren S.K., Dehaene P., Hanson J.W., Graham J.M. Jr., Department of Statistics, University of Washington, Seattle 98195, USA.

8. SOKOLOW, L.; Hynes, G.; and Lyons, J. Treatment-related differences between female and male alcoholics. Focus on Women 1 (1): 42-56,1980.

9. Wilsnack, S.C. Alcohol abuse and alcoholism in women. In: Patterson, E., and Kaufman, E., eds. Encyclopedic Handbook of Alcoholism. New York: Bardner Press, 1982. pp. 718-735.

10. Risk factors for injury to women from domestic violence. Demetrios N. Kyriacou, Deirdre Anglin, Ellen Taliaferro, Susan Stone, Toni Tubb, Judith A. Linden, Robert Muelleman, Erik Barton, and Jess F. Kraus. The New England Journal of Medicine 341:1892-98. December 16, 1999.