Abstract
Alcohol addiction is a lifelong disease with a remitting and recurring course. A disconcerting pattern is the narrowing gap between men and women diagnosed with alcohol dependence. Alcoholism in women is a complex, multidimensional concept associated with substantial risk of medical complications and lifetime morbidity and mortality. Although alcoholism is associated with increased morbidity and mortality, it frequently goes unrecognized or undetected in primary care and other practice settings, principally in women. Why are women more vulnerable to alcohol-related medical conditions than men? Gender susceptibility to alcohol-related health problems remains largely unexplained. However, emerging data indicate women have a lower threshold to the effects of alcohol than men and are considered to be at a greater risk for serious medical complications largely due to biological and genetic variances. Scientists speculate that complex mechanisms account for increased vulnerability to alcohol-related health problems in women who are moderate and heavy drinkers. In addition to age and genetic-related factors, preliminary causes include, variations in first-pass metabolism or alterations in enzymatic processes.
As more and more women seek health care, addiction nurses are in key positions to identify risk factors and intervene to mitigate the potential detrimental effects of alcoholism. Knowledge of pathogeneses unique to women who are moderate drinkers or who consume one drink per day and clinical skills and collaboration with the client and other clinicians are pivotal to this process. In brief, addiction nurses must be able to navigate complex health care systems to ensure timely and equitable access to evidenced-based health care across the life span.