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Alcohol Problems

Alcohol Problems

In 2008, UK statistics revealed that nearly three quarters of the men and over a half of the women interviewed had drunk at least one alcoholic beverage over the previous week. Of these, 11% of men and 6% of women reported daily alcohol consumption during the previous week. Moreover, 2008 saw a 46% increase in the number of drugs prescribed for alcohol problems since 2003, with a further 12% increase in 2009. The statistics suggest that more people are seeking help for alcohol problems.

Alcohol Problems can vary in their level of severity. According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (fourth edition), people are at risk of alcohol problems if they drink more than 14 (men) or 7 (women) alcoholic beverages in a week. People abuse alcohol if it impairs daily functioning, gets them into trouble (both in terms of danger and with the law), and if alcohol is still consumed despite the negative consequences that are occurring. People are alcohol dependent if they find the need to drink increased amounts of alcohol to experience the same effect (known as tolerance), if they experience withdrawal symptoms, if attempts to reduce or stop alcohol consumption are unsuccessful, and if important daily activities are affected.

These varying levels of problematic alcohol consumption can be explained by both genetic and environmental factors. For both men and women, it has been found that identical twins have higher concordance rates for alcohol problems than non-identical twins. Because identical twins share 100% of their genes, this points towards some degree of genetic influence. However, identical twins are also more likely to share the same environment as well as the same genes. Thus, environmental factors may also be an important determinant of the development of problematic alcohol consumption. Such factors include an increased acceptance of alcohol by society, an increased availability of alcohol, and the wealth of advertising that exists to encourage people to buy alcohol.

In sum, there is an increase in the number of people seeking help for alcohol problems. These problems can vary in their level of severity, and can be influenced by both genetic and environmental factors.

References

Heath, A. C., Bucholz, K. K., Madden, P., Dinwiddie, S., Slutske, W., Bierut, L. J.,Statham,D. J., Dunne, M. P.,Whitfield, J. B., & Martin, M. G. (1997). Genetic and environmental contributions to alcohol dependence risk in a national twin sample: Consistency of findings in women and men. Psychological Medicine, 27 (6), 1381-1396.

O'Connor, P. G., & Schottenfeld, R. S. (1998). Patients with alcohol problems. The New England Journal of Medicine. Retrieved from http://johnstrogerhospital.org/cru/images/education/1022084f2b7a6110f260cfb7f51b32c1.pdf

Statistics on alcohol, NHS 2010. Retrieved from http://www.ic.nhs.uk/pubs/alcohol10

The effects of environmental factors on alcohol abuse and use. Retrieved from http://www.alcoholpolicymd.com/alcohol_and_health/study_env.htm

Published by Addiction Advisor on 04/08/2011.

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