Female drinkers face great risks from alcohol consumption

The increased risk of death associated with alcohol intake is not the same for men and women. A study that compared the amount of alcohol consumed and death from all causes among nearly 2.5 million women and men showed that the differences between the sexes became greater as alcohol intake increased, as described in an article. In the article “Effect of Drinking on All-Cause Mortality in Women Compared with Men: A MetaAnalysis,” Chao Wang and coauthors modeled the relationship between the dose of alcohol consumed and the risk of death, comparing the results for drinkers versus non-drinkers and among male and female drinkers. Females had an increased rate of all-cause mortality conferred by drinking compared with males, especially in heavy drinkers. “While alcoholism is more common in men than women, female drinkers face greater risks to their health compared with male drinkers,” says Susan G. Kornstein, MD, Editor-in-Chief of Journal of Women’s Health.