Alcoholism Risk Factors

Alcoholism is a very complex disease, and each situation is different. There are many risk factors and causes, any of which may affect a particular individual. In addition, no factor is a decisive factor, so people with few risk factors may have severe alcoholism, while others with many risk factors may not have alcohol problems.

In general, women are more susceptible to alcoholism and are more likely to feel the effects of alcohol than men of the same size. They are also more prone to long-term physical damage caused by alcohol. This is due to several physiological reasons, such as

• Due to the low moisture content in the body, the ability to dilute alcohol is poor. Women have an average of only 52% water, while men have average moisture of 61%.
• Alcohol is poorly metabolized because they have fewer dehydrogenases, a liver enzyme that is designed to break down alcohol in the body, not men.
• Changes in pre-menstrual hormones often make women more intoxicated a few days before their menstruation. On the other hand, birth control pills and other estrogen-containing drugs can slow the excretion of alcohol from the body.

This does not mean that men are completely protected from alcoholism. Here are other factors that affect your body’s response to alcohol, whether you are male or female:

• Food – The peak blood alcohol concentration of fasting drinkers is three times higher than that of a decent diet before drinking. Food plays an important role in the body’s absorption of alcohol because it dilutes alcohol while slowing the emptying of the stomach to the small intestine that absorbs alcohol.
• Asian ethnicity – About 50% of Asians have difficulty metabolizing alcohol due to the lack of liver enzymes needed to treat the substance.
• Current health status – People with diabetes should be alert to alcohol because it can cause a sudden increase in blood sugar or a drop in blood sugar levels. Drinking alcohol can also prevent diabetes prescription drugs from working properly.
• Prescription drugs – Drugs can slow the effects of alcohol, which in turn can cause you to drink more than your body can actually handle.

How much water you drink and how long you drink, your age and family history are also potential risk factors.