The risk that alcohol poses for women’s health has increased in the last two decades, since women have begun to drink more frequently and in large quantities.
Alcohol -related deaths among women doubled more than in 1999 to 2020. And alcohol -related hepatitis deaths, a disease that resulted in severe liver inflammation, almost tripled among women during the same period of time.
A new study, published on Wednesday at the Medical Journal Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, points to a high risk of alcohol -related liver disease among women. The condition covers several types of liver damage due to excessive alcohol consumption. It covers inflammation at the early stage of severe scars, known as cirrhosis, which can cause liver failure.
Women are more susceptible than men to alcohol -related liver disease for several reasons. On the one hand, their bodies tend to have less water weight and a higher percentage of body fat. This combination increases the concentration of alcohol in its blood, which the liver has to process. Compared to men, women also have lower levels of an enzyme called alcohol dehydrogenase, which helps the body metabolize alcohol. That again leads to higher concentrations of blood alcohol.
These physiological differences, combined with the strong increase in alcohol consumption and excessive alcohol consumption, have made women particularly vulnerable to alcohol -related diseases.
“Historically, there have been differences in prevalence rates [of alcohol use] Between men and women. And essentially, that gap has now closed and the proportion between men and the consumption of alcohol of women is almost 1 to 1, ”said Sherry McKee, director of the Yale score program on sex differences in alcohol consumption disorder.
Changes in women’s lifestyles have created increasing opportunities to consume alcohol, McKee said. Today’s young adults drink less compared to previous generations, but now there are more women in college than men, and the university is generally associated with greater alcohol consumption, he said.
“You combine that with the fact that women delay childbirth, delaying marriage, it only gives more space for women to continue drinking in the years after university,” McKee said.
Women’s heavy alcohol consumption is more common in medium age, said Katherine Keyes, a professor of epidemiology at the Mailman School of Public Health of Columbia University. Some researchers attribute the tendency to stress or culture of office drink, but Keyes said that the main reason why women are drinking more is for fun. He pointed out that wine and liquors are often marketed to women as luxury products or relaxation methods.
Experts said that a greater awareness of the health risks of alcohol consumption could help encourage women to climb again.
“It is not the case that each person who drinks strongly will obtain a liver disease. But we do know that a proportion of these people does, around 25 to 30%,” said Dr. Jessica Mellinger, a doctor of Henry Ford Health senior personnel, a Michigan -based health system. The more a person drinks, he added, the greater the probability that he has to obtain a liver disease related to alcohol of any stage.
The study published on Wednesday found that heavy drinkers are developing liver disease related to alcohol more than double the rate compared to 20 years ago. Researchers suspect that it is because people vulnerable to liver disease, including women and people with obesity or diabetes, drink more compared to past decades.
“The modern American drinker looks different from what he did 20 years ago,” said Dr. Brian Lee, lead author of the studio and hepatologist of Keck Medicine from the University of Southern California.
The researchers used data from a national survey led by the government to measure habits of alcohol consumption and liver health in the United States, characterized heavy drinkers as men who consumed at least 30 grams of alcohol per day, approximately two standard drinks, and women who consumed at least 20 grams per day.
Among heavy drinkers, the risk of significant liver damage doubled from the 22-year period, from almost 2% in 1999-2004 to more than 4% in 2013-20.
The metabolic syndrome rate, conditions such as obesity or high blood pressure that increase the risk of heart disease, diabetes and stroke, among heavy drinkers also increased during that time, from 26% to almost 38%. Both obesity and type 2 diabetes can make fat accumulate in the liver, thus raising the risk of liver disease.
“It could be the situation of a perfect storm. We have an increase in alcohol consumption … along with changing the prevalence of these others [health] Conditions, ”said Keyes.
Lee said it is important that people are honest with their doctors about their alcohol consumption, so that doctors can decide whether to evaluate them for liver disease.
“His risk of liver disease could be greater than he thinks,” he said. “The reality is that liver disease is silent, and most people, even with cirrhosis, which is liver disease in the terminal stage, have no symptoms. I always say that it is a blessing and a curse that needs very few healthy amounts of liver to feel perfectly well.”
Keyes said that women in particular tend to wait more to seek medical attention for excessive alcohol consumption due to social stigma.
“This hidden epidemic is really becoming where women expect too much to see someone about a really serious and alcohol condition,” he said.
