Definition and Prevalence of Alcoholism
- Alcoholism is the continued drinking of alcohol despite negative results.
- Problematic use of alcohol has been mentioned in ancient historical records.
- The World Health Organization estimated there were 283 million people with alcohol use disorders worldwide as of 2016.
- The term 'alcoholism' was first coined in 1852.
- Clinical diagnostic terms such as alcohol use disorder or alcohol dependence are used instead of stigmatizing terms like 'alcoholic.'
Health Effects of Alcoholism
- Heavy long-term alcohol use damages organ systems, especially the brain, heart, liver, pancreas, and immune system.
- Cognitive issues like dementia, brain damage, and Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome can occur.
- Physical effects include irregular heartbeat, impaired immune response, liver cirrhosis, increased cancer risk, and severe withdrawal symptoms.
- Alcoholism can reduce life expectancy by 10 years.
- Drinking during pregnancy can harm the child's health, and drunk driving increases the risk of traffic accidents.
Causes and Risk Factors of Alcoholism
- The development of alcoholism is attributed to both environmental and genetic factors.
- Alcohol can be used as a means to self-medicate stress or anxiety, leading to alcoholism.
- Having a parent or sibling with an alcohol use disorder increases the risk of developing one, but only a minority do.
- Environmental factors such as high stress levels, anxiety, and easy accessibility to alcohol increase the risk.
- People may continue to drink to prevent or improve symptoms of withdrawal.
Diagnosis and Treatment of Alcoholism
- Questionnaires are used to detect possible alcoholism.
- Further information is collected to confirm the diagnosis.
- Treatment may take several forms and should be controlled carefully due to potential medical problems during withdrawal.
- Medications like benzodiazepines, acamprosate, or disulfiram may be used to help prevent further drinking.
- Mental illness or other addictions may complicate treatment, and therapy or support groups are often used.
Impact and Consequences of Alcoholism
- Alcoholism directly resulted in 139,000 deaths worldwide in 2013.
- In 2012, 3.3 million deaths may be attributable globally to alcohol.
- Alcoholism is associated with increases in violent and non-violent crime.
- Alcoholism can have adverse effects on mental health, contributing to psychiatric disorders and increasing the risk of suicide.
- Various terms have been used to refer to people affected by alcoholism, such as 'tippler,' 'drunkard,' 'dipsomaniac,' and 'souse.'
Alcoholism is the continued drinking of alcohol despite negative results. Problematic use of alcohol has been mentioned in the earliest historical records, such as in ancient Egypt and in the Bible, and remains widespread; the World Health Organization (WHO) estimated there were 283 million people with alcohol use disorders worldwide as of 2016[update]. The term alcoholism was first coined in 1852, but alcoholism and alcoholic are stigmatizing and discourage seeking treatment, so clinical diagnostic terms such as alcohol use disorder or alcohol dependence are used instead.
Alcoholism | |
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Other names | Alcohol addiction, alcohol dependence syndrome, alcohol use disorder (AUD) |
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A French temperance organisation poster depicting the effects of alcoholism in a family, c. 1915: "Ah! When will we be rid of alcohol?" | |
Specialty | Psychiatry, clinical psychology, toxicology, addiction medicine |
Symptoms | Drinking large amounts of alcohol over a long period, difficulty cutting down, acquiring and drinking alcohol taking up a lot of time, usage resulting in problems, withdrawal occurring when stopping |
Complications | Mental illness, delirium, Wernicke–Korsakoff syndrome, irregular heartbeat, cirrhosis of the liver, cancer, fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, suicide |
Duration | Long term |
Causes | Environmental and genetic factors |
Risk factors | Stress, anxiety, easy access |
Diagnostic method | Questionnaires, blood tests |
Treatment | Alcohol cessation typically with benzodiazepines, counselling, acamprosate, disulfiram, naltrexone Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) and other Twelve Step Programs, AA/Twelve Step Facilitation (AA/TSF) |
Frequency | 380 million / 5.1% adults (2016) |
Deaths | 3.3 million / 5.9% |
Alcohol is addictive, and heavy long-term alcohol use results in many negative health and social consequences. It can damage all the organ systems, but especially affects the brain, heart, liver, pancreas and immune system. Heavy alcohol usage can result in trouble sleeping, and severe cognitive issues like dementia, brain damage, or Wernicke–Korsakoff syndrome. Physical effects include irregular heartbeat, an impaired immune response, liver cirrhosis, increased cancer risk, and severe withdrawal symptoms if stopped suddenly. These health effects can reduce life expectancy by 10 years. Drinking during pregnancy may harm the child's health, and drunk driving increases the risk of traffic accidents. Alcoholism is also associated with increases in violent and non-violent crime. While alcoholism directly resulted in 139,000 deaths worldwide in 2013, in 2012 3.3 million deaths may be attributable globally to alcohol.
The development of alcoholism is attributed to both environment and genetics equally. The use of alcohol to self-medicate stress or anxiety can turn into alcoholism. Someone with a parent or sibling with an alcohol use disorder is three to four times more likely to develop an alcohol use disorder themselves, but only a minority of them do. Environmental factors include social, cultural and behavioral influences. High stress levels and anxiety, as well as alcohol's inexpensive cost and easy accessibility, increase the risk. People may continue to drink partly to prevent or improve symptoms of withdrawal. After a person stops drinking alcohol, they may experience a low level of withdrawal lasting for months. Medically, alcoholism is considered both a physical and mental illness. Questionnaires are usually used to detect possible alcoholism. Further information is then collected to confirm the diagnosis.
Treatment of alcoholism may take several forms. Due to medical problems that can occur during withdrawal, alcohol cessation should be controlled carefully. One common method involves the use of benzodiazepine medications, such as diazepam. These can be taken while admitted to a health care institution or individually. The medications acamprosate or disulfiram may also be used to help prevent further drinking. Mental illness or other addictions may complicate treatment. Various individual or group therapy or support groups are used to attempt to keep a person from returning to alcoholism. Among them is the abstinence based mutual aid fellowship Alcoholics Anonymous (AA). A 2020 scientific review found that clinical interventions encouraging increased participation in AA (AA/twelve step facilitation (AA/TSF))—resulted in higher abstinence rates over other clinical interventions, and most studies in the review found that AA/TSF led to lower health costs.
Many terms, some slurs and some informal, have been used to refer to people affected by alcoholism such as tippler, drunkard, dipsomaniac and souse.
From alcohol + -ism.
alcoholism (usually uncountable, plural alcoholisms)