You Don’t Have to Have an Alcohol Problem to Have a Problem with Alcohol

Learn How Alcohol Affects Health on
National Alcohol Screening Day, April 7

Katherine Cruise - Communications Director with Screening for Mental Health

“My husband and I are expecting a baby, and I enjoy an occasional glass of wine with dinner – will this affect my unborn child?” “I take an over the counter pain medication for my bad back – does this mean I shouldn’t drink alcohol?” “My 75-year-old mother has recently been diagnosed with high blood pressure – can drinking make her hypertension worse?”

For most women, moderate alcohol use causes few, if any, problems. But for some, any alcohol use may lead to significant health problems. Trying to figure out the risks associated with alcohol use is not easy because alcohol affects your body differently at different times. To protect yourself, it is important to figure out where you should draw the line when consuming alcohol – for example, where do you draw the line as you get older, if you are pregnant or trying to get pregnant, if you have a family history of alcohol abuse, if you develop a medical condition, or if you take certain medications.

Recommendations for moderate alcohol use are not the same for men and women. According to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, moderate drinking is defined as no more than one drink a day for women and no more than two drinks a day for men. Why the difference? A woman’s body generally has less water than a man’s causing the blood alcohol content to reach a higher level, faster. Therefore, a woman’s brain and other organs are exposed to more alcohol and to more of the toxic byproducts that result when the body breaks down and eliminates alcohol leaving women at a greater risk of developing alcohol-related problems (Alcohol: A Women's Health Issue, NIAAA, January 2005).

Women and Alcohol Facts:

• Women overall drink less than men but are more likely to experience adverse consequences including damage to the heart muscle, liver, and brain, trauma resulting from auto crashes, interpersonal violence, and death.
• Adolescent girls who consume even moderate amounts of alcohol may experience disrupted growth and puberty.
• Older women, more than any other group, use medications that can affect mood and thought, such as those for anxiety and depression. These psychoactive medications can interact with alcohol in harmful ways.
• The progression of alcoholism appears to be faster in women than in men.
• Research suggests that as little as one drink per day can slightly raise the risk of breast cancer in some women, especially those who have a family history of breast cancer.

Alcohol doesn’t always negatively impact women’s health. In fact, there are some health benefits associated with moderate drinking. Heart disease is the leading killer of women in the United States. Drinking moderately may lower the risk for coronary heart disease, mainly among women over age 55. Keep in mind that while these benefits exist, other behaviors, such as maintaining a healthy diet, quitting smoking and exercising regularly are even more beneficial.

There are some circumstances when no amount of alcohol is considered safe for women. One example is when a woman is pregnant or trying to become pregnant. In February of 2005, the Surgeon General issued an advisory on alcohol use in pregnancy stating that alcohol consumed during pregnancy increases the risk of alcohol related birth defects, including growth deficiencies, facial abnormalities, central nervous system impairment, behavioral disorders, and compromised intellectual development. It is also recommended that women who are considering becoming pregnant should also abstain from drinking as alcohol can damage a fetus at any stage of pregnancy. Damage can occur in the earliest weeks of pregnancy, even before a woman knows that she is pregnant.

If you’re worried about how alcohol use may be affecting your health, attend one of the free, anonymous screenings held at thousands of sites across the country on National Alcohol Screening Day, April 7, 2005. This one-day education and screening event is designed to raise awareness on alcohol and health, help individuals evaluate their alcohol use, and provide referrals to local treatment and support resources for those who need further evaluation.

As part of the program, attendees will complete a brief written screening tool assessing their alcohol use and have the opportunity to talk privately with a health professional to discuss the next steps. Participants will also have the opportunity to receive free information on a variety of alcohol-related issues, from mixing alcohol and medication to talking to your kids about drinking. The program is free and confidential.

“National Alcohol Screening Day serves to educate all Americans who drink, regardless of amount, that alcohol has risks and benefits beyond what most of us know. While a drink is standardized, the drinker is not. Each of us needs to learn the facts about alcohol and evaluate where we personally should draw the line,” says Sharon Pigeon, MSW, LICSW and NASD Program Manager.

National Alcohol Screening Day, held in April as part of Alcohol Awareness Month, is a program of the nonprofit Screening for Mental Health in collaboration with the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Transportation, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

To find a local screening site, call 1-877-311-NASD (6273) or visit
www.NationalAlcoholScreeningDay.org.

Last updated: April, 2005

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