Excessive Drinking - Women in Georgia

Georgia

Excessive alcohol consumption is a leading cause of preventable mortality in the United States. Among women, nearly 59,000 deaths occur from excessive alcohol use every year.

Although the prevalence of alcohol use remains higher among men than women, the gender gap is narrowing. Women’s bodies absorb more alcohol and process it more slowly than men’s, which can lead to accelerated development of adverse health outcomes even at lower levels of alcohol consumption.

Among women, alcohol consumption is associated with an increased risk of liver disease, heart disease and breast cancer. Binge drinking is associated with an increased prevalence of prescription drug misuse and use of other substances such as marijuana, stimulants and cocaine. Alcohol use during pregnancy is associated with preterm birth, stillbirth and miscarriage and can cause fetal alcohol spectrum disorder. Combined use of alcohol and cigarettes during pregnancy may also increase the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). 

Excessive drinking is associated with losses in workplace productivity and increases in health care expenses, criminal justice expenses and expenses related to motor vehicle crashes and property damage. In 2010, excessive drinking cost the U.S. an estimated $249 billion (total economic burden) or about $2.05 per alcoholic drink consumed.

According to America’s Health Rankings analysis, the prevalence of excessive drinking is highest among:

• Women ages 18-34 compared with women ages 35-44.
• Non-Hispanic white and multiracial women compared with Hispanic, Black, Asian and other race women. 
• Women who are college graduates compared with women who have less than a high school education. 
• Women with an annual household income of $150,000 or more compared with those with an income less than $25,000.

Using moderation when consuming alcohol can reduce the risk of adverse short- and long-term health outcomes.

The Community Preventive Services Task Force has published findings on several evidence-based interventions to prevent excessive drinking, including:

• Dram shop liability laws, which hold venue owners accountable if a customer buys a drink, leaves and causes harm to either themselves or someone else. 
• Electronic screening and brief interventions (e-SBI).
• Increasing alcohol taxes.
• Maintaining limits on days and hours that alcohol sales are permitted.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention offers an anonymous tool that helps adults to assess their drinking behaviors and identify barriers and motivators to reducing alcohol consumption.

Healthy People 2030 has multiple goals related to excessive drinking, including:

• Increasing abstinence from alcohol among pregnant women. 
• Reducing the proportion of adults who engage in binge drinking in the past month.
• Reducing the proportion of people who had alcohol use disorder in the past year. 
• Increasing the proportion of people who need alcohol and/or drug treatment who got treatment in the past year.

Elliott, Amy J., Hannah C. Kinney, Robin L. Haynes, Johan D. Dempers, Colleen Wright, William P. Fifer, Jyoti Angal, et al. “Concurrent Prenatal Drinking and Smoking Increases Risk for SIDS: Safe Passage Study Report.” EClinicalMedicine 19 (January 20, 2020): 100247. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eclinm.2019.100247.

Esser, Marissa B., Cassandra M. Pickens, Gary P. Jr. Guy, and Mary E. Evans. “Binge Drinking, Other Substance Use, and Concurrent Use in the U.S., 2016–2018.” American Journal of Preventive Medicine 60, no. 2 (February 1, 2021): 169–78. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2020.08.025.

Esser, Marissa B., Adam Sherk, Yong Liu, and Timothy S. Naimi. “Deaths from Excessive Alcohol Use — United States, 2016–2021.” MMWR. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report 73, no. 8 (February 29, 2024): 154–61. https://doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm7308a1.

Sacks, Jeffrey J., Katherine R. Gonzales, Ellen E. Bouchery, Laura E. Tomedi, and Robert D. Brewer. “2010 National and State Costs of Excessive Alcohol Consumption.” American Journal of Preventive Medicine 49, no. 5 (November 1, 2015): e73–79. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2015.05.031.

White, Aaron M. “Gender Differences in the Epidemiology of Alcohol Use and Related Harms in the United States.” Alcohol Research: Current Reviews 40, no. 2 (2020): 01. https://doi.org/10.35946/arcr.v40.2.01.