Alcoholism On the Rise for U.S. Women

New research shows significant increases in alcohol consumption and alcohol dependence among white and Hispanic U.S. women born after World War II. According to a report in the May 2008 issue of the journal Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, women born between 1954 and 1963 were more likely to drink alcohol than women born between 1944 and 1953. In addition, those who drank had an increased risk of alcohol dependence.

Dr. Richard A. Grucza of Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri, and colleagues analyzed two national adult surveys taken 10 years apart (1991-1992 and 2001-2002). The polls compared lifetime alcohol-use rates from the same age group (30-40 years) and demographics. In a written statement, Grucza said, "We found that for women born after World War II, there are lower levels of abstaining from alcohol and higher levels of alcohol dependence, even when looking only at women who drank." He went on to say, "However, we didn't see any significant tendency for more recently born men to have lower levels of abstention or higher levels of alcohol dependence." According to the researchers, "This is particularly disturbing because women with alcohol problems face more severe health-related consequences and possibly more years of life lost than their male counterparts."

Although alcohol use and dependency was shown to have remained stable for men, younger Americans are those who report having more lifetime alcohol problems rather than older Americans even though they have had less time to develop alcohol related issues. Grucza stated that the closing gender-gap in alcoholism might be due to higher levels of problems facing women, while men have been more or less steady in their levels of dependence. According to Grucza, "Clearly there were many changes in the cultural environment for women born in the '40s, '50s, and '60s compared to women born earlier. Women entered the work force, were more likely to go to college, were less hampered by gender stereotypes, and had more purchasing power. They were freer to engage in a range of behaviors that were culturally or practically off-limits, and these behaviors probably would have included excessive drinking and alcohol problems."

Shelly F. Greenfield, associate clinical director of the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Treatment Program at McLean Hospital said of the findings, "One possible explanation is that between 1934 and 1964, the social acceptability of women's drinking increased. As it was more socially acceptable for women to drink, a greater number of them became drinkers. Because women have a heightened vulnerability to the effects of alcohol, that is, greater blood alcohol levels at similar doses of alcohol, we may therefore see a concomitant rise in alcohol dependence among those who ever drank."

Greenfield suggested targeting females with gender-specific prevention programs to possibly lower drinking rates or delay when drinking begins, which could help prevent later alcohol problems. "It would also be helpful to educate women about the gender differences in metabolism of alcohol, and the associated heightened female vulnerability to alcohol's adverse health consequences at lower doses than men," she said.

Grucza noted that the barrier of race might be what is keeping black women, who still have the lowest rates of drinking among the demographic groups looked at, from adopting the alcohol-use standards of the dominant U.S. culture.