The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) explains that in the United States as of 2010, 60 percent of women have at least one alcoholic beverage a year and 13 percent of those women have more than seven alcoholic beverages a week. When a woman becomes an alcoholic, she becomes physically dependent on alcohol--an alcoholic cannot control how much alcohol she consumes and enters withdrawal when she stops drinking. Over time, alcoholism can lead to serious long-term health problems.
Neurological Problems
Alcohol can have damaging effects on the brain. The NIAAA points out women may have a higher vulnerability than men. Alcoholism can lead to a deficiency in the vitamin thiamine, which leads to a neurological condition called Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome. Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome is a two-part disorder. The first part of the disorder, Wernicke's encephalopathy, causes paralysis of the eyes' movement nerves, mental confusion and coordination problems. The second part of the disorder, Korsakoff's psychosis, causes memory loss: patients cannot remember information from their past and cannot create new memories. To make up for their memory loss, patients confabulate, or make up stories which they believe are true. NIAAA notes that 80 to 90 percent of alcoholics who have Wernicke's encephalopathy go on to develop Korsakoff's psychosis.
Alcoholism can also result in nerve damage. NIAAA explains that alcoholic women can develop a condition called peripheral neuropathy, which affects the nerves located outside the brain and spinal cord. The symptoms of peripheral neuropathy depend on the specific type of nerve affected. For example, damage to the sensory nerves cause numbness and tingling, while damage to the motor nerves may cause a lack of muscle control. Damage to the autonomic nerves, which control involuntary functions of the body, may cause urinary incontinence.
Cancer
Women who are alcoholics have an increased risk of developing certain cancers. For example, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information points out women have a slightly increased risk of breast cancer when they drink two or more alcoholic beverages a day. Alcoholism also raises the risk for throat cancer, esophageal cancer, mouth cancer, laryngeal cancer, rectal cancer and colon cancer in women.
Alcoholic Liver Disease
Alcoholic women can sustain serious damage to their livers. Three types of liver diseases can develop with heavy alcohol use: fatty liver, alcoholic hepatitis and cirrhosis. With fatty liver, patients have a higher fat accumulation in their livers. Alcoholic hepatitis is an inflammation of the liver, while cirrhosis is scarring of the liver. The National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information notes 10 to 20 percent of people who drink heavily develop cirrhosis. NIAAA explains that women have a higher risk of getting alcoholic hepatitis and dying from cirrhosis.
Pancreatitis
Alcoholism can affect the pancreas, the part of the body that produces insulin. This can result in pancreatitis, or inflammation of the pancreas, which causes symptoms such as weight loss and severe abdominal pain. Penn State's Milton S. Hershey Medical Center points out while chronic pancreatitis is more common among men, it can affect women who drink heavily.
Heart Problems
NIAAA explains that alcoholism can damage the heart muscle, resulting in cardiomyopathy. While cardiomyopathy may not cause symptoms in the early stage, women with more advanced cardiomyopathy can have breathlessness, dizziness, fatigue and leg swelling. The National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information adds that women who are alcoholics have an increased risk for heart disease and high blood pressure.
References
- National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism: Alcohol -- A Women's Health Issue
- U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information: Alcohol -- What You Don't Know Can Harm You
- National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism: Alcohol's Damaging Effects on the Brain
- Penn State's Milton S. Hershey Medical Center: Pancreatitis
- MayoClinic.com: Cardiomyopathy -- Symptoms
