Quick Stat
Excessive Alcohol Use and Risks to Women’s Health

Although men are more likely to drink alcohol and drink in larger amounts, gender differences in body structure and chemistry cause women to absorb more alcohol, and take longer to break it down and remove. In other words, upon drinking equal amounts, women have higher alcohol levels in their blood than men, and the immediate effects occur more quickly and last longer. These differences also make women more vulnerable to alcohol’s long-term effects on their health.

Reproductive Health

• National surveys show that about 6 out of every 10 women of childbearing age (i.e., 18–44 years old) use alcohol, and about one-third of those binge drink.
• In 2002, about 10% of pregnant women used alcohol, and 2% drank excessively.
• Excessive drinking may disrupt menstrual cycling and increase the risk of infertility, miscarriage, stillbirth, and premature delivery.
• Women who binge drink are more likely to have unprotected sex and multiple sex partners. These activities increase the risks of unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases.

Alcohol and Pregnancy

• Women who drink alcohol while pregnant increase their risk of having a baby with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD). The most severe form is Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS), which causes mental retardation and birth defects.
• FASD are completely preventable if a woman does not drink while pregnant or while she may become pregnant.
• Studies have shown that about 1 in 20 pregnant women drank excessively before finding out they were pregnant. No amount of alcohol is safe to drink during pregnancy. For women who drink during pregnancy, stopping as soon as possible may lower the risk of having a child with physical, mental, or emotional problems.
• Research suggests that women who drink alcohol while pregnant are more likely to have a baby die from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). This risk increases if a woman binge drinks during her first trimester of pregnancy.
• The risk of miscarriage is also increased if a woman drinks excessively during her first trimester of pregnancy.

Other Health Concerns

• Liver Disease: The risk of cirrhosis and other alcohol-related liver diseases is higher for women than for men.
• Impact on the Brain: Excessive drinking may result in memory loss and shrinkage of the brain. Research suggests that women are more vulnerable than men to the brain damaging effects of excessive alcohol use, and the damage tends to appear with shorter periods of excessive drinking for women.
• Impact on the Heart: Studies have shown that women who drink excessively are at increased risk for damage to the heart muscle than men even for women drinking at lower levels.
• Breast Cancer: Alcohol use increases the risk of breast cancer among women. This risk increases as the amount of alcohol use increases.
• Sexual Assault: Binge drinking is a risk factor for sexual assault, especially among young women in college settings. Each year, about 1 in 20 college women are sexually assaulted. Research suggests that there is an increase in the risk of rape or sexual assault when both the attacker and victim have used alcohol prior to the attack.