Who Becomes an Alcoholic?

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General Risk Factors

An estimated 90% of American adults drink alcohol, and up to half of American men have problems that are caused by alcohol. Between 10% and 20% of men and between 3% and 10% of women either abuse or become dependent on alcohol, and some studies indicate that every day, more than 700,000 Americans are being treated for alcoholism.

Age

Drinking in Adolescence. Currently 1.9 million young people between the ages of 12 and 20 are considered heavy drinkers and 4.4 million are binge drinkers. Anyone who begins drinking in adolescence is at risk for developing alcoholism. Young people at highest risk for early drinking are those with a history of abuse, family violence, depression, and stressful life events. People with a family history of alcoholism are also more likely to begin drinking before the age of 20 and to become alcoholic. Such adolescent drinkers are also more apt to underestimate the effects of drinking and to make judgment errors, such as going on binges or driving after drinking, than young drinkers without a family history of alcoholism.

Drinking in the Elderly Population. Although alcoholism usually develops in early adulthood, the elderly are not exempt. A survey of 5,000 adults over 60 reported that 15% of men and 12% of women were hazardous drinkers, and 9% of men and 3% of women were alcohol dependent. In another study, the prevalence of problem drinking was as high as 49% among nursing home patients. Alcohol also affects the older body differently; people who maintain the same drinking patterns as they age can easily develop alcohol dependency without realizing it. Physicians may overlook alcoholism when evaluating elderly patients, mistakenly attributing the signs of alcohol abuse to the normal effects of the aging process.

Gender

Most alcoholics are men, but the incidence of alcoholism in women has been increasing over the past 30 years. About 9.3% of men and 1.9% of women are heavy drinkers, and 22.8% of men are binge drinkers compared to 8.7% of women. In general, young women problem drinkers follow the drinking patterns of their partners, although they tend to engage in heavier drinking during the premenstrual period. Women tend to become alcoholic later in life than men, and it is estimated that 1.8 million older women suffer from alcohol addiction. Even though heavy drinking in women usually occurs later in life, the medical problems women develop because of the disorder occur at about the same age as men, suggesting that women are more susceptible to the physical toxicity of alcohol.

Family History

The risk for alcoholism in sons of alcoholic fathers is 25%. The familial link is weaker for women, but genetic factors contribute to this disease in both genders. In one study, women with alcoholism tended to have parents who drank. Women who came from families with a history of emotional disorders, rejecting parents, or early family disruption had no higher risk for drinking than women without such backgrounds. A stable family and psychological health, however, were not protective in people with a genetic risk. Unfortunately, there is no way to predict which members of alcoholic families are most at risk for alcoholism.

Ethnicity

Overall, there is no difference in alcoholic prevalence among African Americans, Caucasians, and Hispanic people. Some population groups, however, such as Irish and Native Americans, have an increased incidence in alcoholism while others, such as Jewish and Asian Americans, have a lower risk. Although the biological or cultural causes of such different risks are not known, certain people in these population groups may have a genetic susceptibility or invulnerability to alcoholism because of the way they metabolize alcohol.

Source: www.reutershealth.com/wellconnected/doc56.html