OVER a 10-month period from April 2020 to September 2021, alcohol-related disease complications among middle-aged women increased by 33%-56% compared to before the pandemic, according to a new study.
First author Dr. Bryant Shuey, an assistant professor of medicine at the University of Pittsburgh, said alcohol consumption among women has increased compared to men over the past decade, especially during the pandemic.
Increased alcohol consumption can likely lead to the severe alcohol-related liver disease, mood disorders, alcohol withdrawal problems, and heart and stomach problems found in this study.
Research shows the rate of consuming five or more drinks in a row among women aged 35-50 has increased twice as fast as men over the past decade. This trend appears to have worsened during the pandemic.
Heavy drinking days among women increased by 41% with the number of women aged 40-64 years hospitalized due to alcohol abuse.
Meanwhile, addiction expert Dr Scott Hadland, professor of pediatrics at Massachusetts General for Children and Harvard Medical School, said the incidence of alcohol-related complications that usually take several years to occur suddenly increased significantly following Covid-19.
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The study, published in the journal JAMA Health Forum, analyzed claims from an insurance database for people ages 15 and older to determine the number of emergency room visits and hospitalizations due to alcohol abuse during the pandemic.
Of these diagnoses, between 54% – 66% are due to complications of alcoholic liver disease, such as cirrhosis. Alcohol withdrawal and alcohol-related mood disorders accounted for 29%-39% of visits.
This study found a much smaller proportion of alcohol-related hospitalizations were due to cardiomyopathy or heart arrhythmia, 3%-5%, and 1%-3% were due to stomach bleeding due to alcohol abuse.
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Although the study cannot determine cause and effect, one explanation for the increase is that women already had alcohol problems before the pandemic. Therefore, this condition becomes critical during the pandemic and further worsens the condition.
For the negative effects of alcohol, women are more susceptible to the negative effects of alcohol for several reasons. His body had low levels of alcohol dehydrogenase, an enzyme needed to break down alcohol. Additionally, women’s bodies have slightly more fat and less water than men’s.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the US, women have a higher risk of liver damage and cirrhosis from alcohol abuse and heart disease can occur if they consume less alcohol and drink for shorter periods of time than men.
Additionally, the CDC notes that cognitive decline and brain shrinkage due to alcohol occur more rapidly in women than in men. Another big difference between men and women is that for women, alcohol consumption is also associated with breast cancer, even at low levels of consumption.
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So how do you know if your alcohol use has turned negative?
According to Dr. Ibrahim Karaye, assistant professor of population health at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York, one sign of the negative impact of drinking is behavioral changes such as increased consumption, mood swings and neglect of duties.
Another sign is that it has a negative impact on your physical or mental health. This may include difficulty waking up in the morning or frequent disagreements with coworkers or loved ones.
Meanwhile, current dietary guidelines call for a standard drink per day for men of no more than two drinks, and one drink for women and people over 65 years old. However, many people drink more than one standard drink, namely 12 ounces of regular beer, 5 ounces of regular wine, or 1 ½ ounces of liquor. (CNN/Z-3)
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