It’s all so confusing, it’s enough to drive you to drink. Which might be good. But probably isn’t.
A deluge of information about drinking has given American women a mixed message. Some studies in recent years tout certain health benefits of alcohol; as the number of drinking women escalates, other medical officials warn that there are far greater risks than benefits involved and that moderation is key.
Studies show that drinking offers some protection from heart disease, especially in menopausal women. Some weight experts have suggested that women drink a glass of two of wine during dinner to help relax and make yourself less likely to overeat.
Other experts say before they drink up, women should consider the myriad risks involved, including hypertension, liver disease and fetal alcohol syndrome. Excessive drinking has consequences for virtually every part of the body.
The consensus is that women should drink in moderation, if at all. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans, a government publication, defines moderation for an adult woman as one drink per day (12 ounces of beer or five ounces of wine or 1.5 ounces of hard liquor).
“There is a real fine line against drinking, ” said Dr. Barbara Soltes, clinical director of the Women’s Health Research Center at Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke’s Medical Center. “It’s not a prescription to give a person.”
Even though the Dietary Guidelines considers a drink each day as moderate, Soltes said, “I wouldn’t recommend anyone drink every day.”
Soltes acknowledged some benefits of drinking, specifically those found in two studies by doctors four years ago. One showed the HDL cholesterol in alcohol seems to offer about a 45 percent protection against heart disease. The other showed that a small amount of alcohol increases acetate, which in turn causes more blood to go to the heart and reduces a person’s chances of developing blood clots.
Soltes said that of any group of women, those going through menopause would be the most likely to benefit from drinking. She said studies have shown that drinking on a regular basis causes the estrogen level to rise, which gives menopausal women protection against heart disease.
Soltes quickly added, “For all the good things that (alcohol) has been proposed to do, there are really bad things that will kill a person.
“Drinking increases hypertension by about 40 percent. Hypertension leads to stroke, irregularities of heart beat and weakening of the heart muscles,” Soltes said.
“Alcohol impairs the immune system, so people who drink can’t fight off infections as well as the person whose system has not been impaired by alcohol.”
Fetal alcohol syndrome, the result of women drinking heavily during pregnancy, is among the most hazardous of alcohol-related conditions.
“I saw many, many cases of it,” she said. “Right away, it is evident that the babies have been affected. They display anatomical as well as behavioral abnormalities.”
The babies’ characteristic look is a flattened mid-face, small head, very small upper lip, a short flat nose and eyes spread far apart. Infants who suffer from fetal alcohol syndrome are usually smaller. They progress slower in the usual developmental milestones because of neurological damage. They have learning disabilities. And, unfortunately, most of the damage is permanent, said Soltes.
“There is very little that can be done at this point because (the babies) have already been affected,” she said.
Although most women don’t abuse alcohol, there are certain cases when they should abstain altogether. “Women who are thinking about having a baby or pregnant women” should not drink, Soltes said.
Sara Valter, a physician at Prentice Women’s Hospital of Northwestern Memorial Hospital, agreed “there is no safe level” of drinking during pregnancy.
Also, women should abstain from drinking when they are taking certain medication, whether prescribed or over-the-counter, because alcohol can lessen the effect of medication. Combining medication and alcohol can also cause some serious side effects.
Women with liver disease should not drink, and some studies suggest that women with breast cancer also could be affected adversely.
The extensive list of alcohol-related health hazards includes cirrhosis of the liver, inflammation of the pancreas and, ironically, heart disease.
Long-term alcohol abuse can impair the brain’s intellectual and problem-solving abilities. Heavy drinkers also are at risk of malnutrition because alcohol contains calories that may substitute for those in more nutritious food.
The American Cancer Society says excessive consumption of alcohol is associated with cancer of the mouth, pharynx, larynx, stomach and esophagus. In 1991, about 16,000 cancer deaths were related to excessive use of alcohol, frequently in combination with cigarette smoking.
The National Institutes of Health, in its November 1994 publication Alcohol World, took an in-depth look at the effects of drinking on women:
Although women are less likely to drink than men, they appear to be bridging the gap. Nearly 60 percent of American women drink alcohol, compared to 71 percent of men. Men are more than three times as likely to be heavy drinkers as women are. Twenty-one percent of men and 6 percent of women have two or more drinks daily. But among the heaviest drinkers, women equal or surpass men in the number of problems that result from their drinking.
In a June report, the Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University stated the number of drinking women was on the rise. It found teenage girls and boys about even in the number who drink, about 18 percent.
Some factors that seem to influence a woman’s drinking habits include age, marital status and life role, according to the National Institutes of Health. For example, women between 18 and 34 report higher rates of drinking-related problems than do older women, but the incidence of alcohol dependence is greater among women 35 to 49.
The health institute, in its report Women and Alcohol, states: “Women who have multiple roles (married women who work outside the home) may have lower rates of alcohol problems than women who do not have multiple roles. In fact, role deprivation, loss of a role as wife, mother or worker, may increase a woman’s risk for abusing alcohol.
“Women who have never married or who are divorced or separated are more likely to drink heavily than women who are married or widowed. Unmarried women living with a partner are more likely still to engage in heavy drinking and to develop drinking problems.”
Individuals who cannot restrict their drinking to moderate levels should avoid it altogether. This is a special concern for recovering alcoholics and people whose family members have alcohol problems, Valter said.
Laura McCallahan, a North Shore professional, considers herself to be one of those people who can’t limit her drinking. She started drinking as a teenager and drank and used amphetamines in college to bring herself up and down as needed to succeed in her academic work. Later in her life, one of her children died and her drinking worsened, to the point where she couldn’t steady her hand to sign a check. She drank excessively until she was 40.
A self-described “recovering alcoholic,” McCallahan, 60, said, “Just like I wouldn’t put my hand in a meat grinder, I would not pour myself a drink. . . . For a recovering alcoholic, there is no moderation. Abstinence is the best.”
Valter cautions those who are overly encouraged by the health benefits reported from drinking.
“People will take the studies that were done and will extrapolate that to justify what could be a drinking problem. I’ve had patients say `I just have a few drinks a night,’ ” she added. “A few drinks turn into four or five, or a six-pack. It could lead to many problems.”
ALCOHOL FACTS
– Nearly 60 percent of American women drink, compared with 71 percent of American men.
– Six percent of women and 21 percent of men have two or more drinks daily.
– Women between 18 and 34 report higher rates of drinking-related problems than do older women, but the incidence of alcohol dependence is greater among women age 35 to 49.
Source: The National Institutes of Health.
