Women and Substance Abuse

Women With Alcohol-Related Liver Disease Have Greater Mortality Risk Than Men

Investigators from the Smidt Heart Institute at Cedars-Sinai and colleagues found that women with fatty liver disease related to alcohol consumption have almost twice the risk of dying within a certain time period than men with the same condition. The findings, published in the peer-reviewed Journal of Hepatology, highlight the need for women who are at risk of developing liver disease to avoid excess alcohol consumption.

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Alcohol's Effects on Women's Sleep More Pronounced

Researchers have known for decades that alcohol can initially deepen sleep during the early part of the night but then disrupt sleep during the latter part of the night; this is called a "rebound effect." A study of the influence of gender and family history of alcoholism on sleep has found that intoxication can increase feelings of sleepiness while at the same time disrupt actual sleep measures in healthy women more than in healthy men.

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Couples Therapy Best for Alcohol Dependent Women

Barbara McCrady and Elizabeth Epstein wanted to know whether cognitive behavior therapy worked better for alcohol-dependent women when delivered as couples therapy than when delivered as individual therapy. They reported recently that both treatment methods worked well, but women treated in couples therapy maintained their gains a bit better than those in individual therapy. Also, women suffering from depression in addition to alcohol-dependence did better in couples therapy. Their paper appeared in the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology.

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Alcohol Ups Risk of Breast Cancer Recurrence

A study of early-stage breast cancer patients who were light drinkers found an increased risk for recurrence of breast cancer and mortality. In the Life After Cancer Epidemiology (LACE) study, 1,897 participants diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer between 1997 and 2000 and recruited on average 2 years post-breast cancer diagnosis were evaluated for the association between alcohol intake and breast cancer recurrence and death.

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Cirrhosis Increasing at Alarming Rate in Younger Women

Researchers have found that the burden of cirrhosis in women in North America has increased substantially in recent years, a worrying trend driven by a rise in alcohol-related liver disease (ALD) and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Projections suggest that both ALD and NAFLD rates will result in even higher cirrhosis incidence by 2040, with the most worrisome upward trends seen in young women with ALD and post-menopausal women with NAFLD.

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Older Women Drink More and Think It's 'Normal'

Women aged 50-70 are more likely than younger women to consume alcohol at levels that exceed low risk drinking guidelines - and most think that's just perfectly fine. Research has found that despite the potential health risks of exceeding national drinking guidelines, many middle-aged and older women who consume alcohol at high risk levels tend to perceive their drinking as normal and acceptable, so long as they appear respectable and in control.

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Even Low-level Alcohol Use Increases Miscarriage Risk

Women who consume alcohol during pregnancy — even in small amounts — have a 19 percent greater risk of miscarriage than women who don't use alcohol, according to a new study by Vanderbilt researchers. The study also found that for alcohol exposure of less than five drinks per week, each additional drink per week during pregnancy was associated with a 6 percent increase in miscarriage risk.

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Many Women Ignore Alcohol-Breast Cancer Risk

Middle aged women in Australia aren't getting the message about the proven link between alcohol consumption and breast cancer, at a time when more are drinking while cancer rates in their age bracket are increasing, according to a new study.

More women aged between 45 and 64 years aren't aware of the potential risks, and indicate negative impacts on their weight, relationships or lifestyle would more likely result in a reduction in drinking, rather then warnings about an increased risk of cancer.

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