Alcohol abuse has devastating effects on the individual, the family and society as a whole. Increased clinical understanding of the consequences of alcoholism can help health care professionals to develop strategies for repairing the damage inflicted by the disease. Knowledge of the negative effects of alcoholism can also help inspire change in people directly affected by the disease.
Physical Consequences
Alcoholism inflicts many negative physical consequences on the human body. The physical damage can be temporary, as in the nausea, headaches and fatigue of a hangover, or chronic, as in alcoholic liver disease.
According to the World Health Organization, cirrhosis, pancreatitis, obesity and cardiovascular disease are common results of chronic alcoholism. Long-term alcohol abuse decreases immunity to illness by inhibiting white blood cell production.
Sexual function can be impaired by chronic alcoholism. Men can experience an increase in estrogen production that shrinks the genitals, reduces semen production and decreases the libido.
Many of these effects are reversible when a person stops drinking, but some of the physical damage caused by alcohol abuse is irreversible and incurable.
Psychological Consequences
Long-term alcohol abuse causes brain damage. At its most severe, this manifests as alcoholic dementia, wherein the alcohol dependent person loses all ability to reason and function. Alcoholism can also lead to a condition known as Korsakoff's syndrome, or "wet brain," which occurs when alcohol abuse causes a severe thiamine deficiency, according to the United States National Library of Medicine.
Wet-brained patients exhibit severe short-term memory loss, which is often preceded by confusion, inability to walk or stand properly, and eye muscle paralysis. If treated in time, only one fourth of wet-brain patients will fully recover, according to the WHO.
Mood disorders are common in people addicted to alcohol, due to the drug's depressive effects. These psychological disturbances can occur while the person is actively drinking, or in between bouts of alcohol abuse.
Social Consequences
When in the throes of active alcohol addiction, people often surround themselves with others who share their destructive habits. A network of alcoholic friends who habitually frequent a drinking establishment can serve to validate the behaviors associated with compulsive drinking.
By limiting their social circles to those who endorse their drinking habits, alcohol abusers immerse themselves in a community that conveniently overlooks the damage inflicted by the disease.
Outside of barroom camaraderie, other relationships deteriorate, especially within the family. According to the World Health Organization, children of alcoholic parents more frequently experience abuse, neglect and psychological insecurities due to the inconsistent parenting provided by an alcohol dependent adult. The spouses of alcohol abusers are vulnerable to physical or emotional abuse.
Alcoholism increases the likelihood of unemployment. Unemployment can, in turn, be related to increased alcohol consumption. This results in a vicious cycle of addiction, desperation and failure.
Societal Consequences
Alcoholism has negative effects on a society as a whole. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have described alcoholism as "the 3rd leading cause of preventable death in the United States." In 2001, more than 13,000 motor vehicle deaths could be attributed to alcohol intoxication in the United States.
Alcohol is a frequent factor in various crimes. Theft, rape, assault and homicide rates can be particularly high in societies with high rates of alcohol abuse, according to the CDC.
Alcohol abuse also has considerable economic consequences. The CDC states that an estimated $148 billion per year is spent correcting the societal effects of alcohol abuse.
References
- National Institutue on Drug Abuse: Diet and Substance Abuse Recovery
- Centers for Disease Control: Alcohol-Attributable Deaths and Years of Potential Life Lost
- World Health Organization: Alcohol and its Social Consequences -- The Forgotten Dimension
- World Health Organization: Consequences of Alcohol Use
