Alcohol Abuse Treatment

  • Even though women drink less than men, the number of women who do drink is important. Estimates show that of the 15.1 million individuals who abuse alcohol or are alcohol-dependent, 4.6 million are women. That signifies that about one-third of alcoholics are women.
  • The amount of women who report using illegal drugs is alarming, although women are less likely to use illicit drugs than men. Five percent of women and 8 percent of men admit having used illicit substances during the last 30 days.
  • In 1989, 43 percent of substance abuse patients admitted to emergency rooms were female and 56 percent were male.
  • Cigarette consumption among women has dropped at the rate of about 1 percent each year since 1985. Consumption during the last month by women was at 24.2 percent in 1990, down from a 1985 figure of 28.1 percent.
  • Women who drink heavily or are alcoholic are more susceptible to become victims of the alcohol-related aggression of others, like date rape.
  • Drinking differs among women of different racial or ethnic backgrounds. African American women were more susceptible to abstain from drinking alcohol (66.9 percent) than White women (52.6 percent) during the 30 days prior to their interview.
  • Hispanic women drink infrequently and are more susceptible than White or African American women to abstain from drinking; nonetheless, this may change as they enter new social and work arenas. Abstention percentages are higher among Hispanic women who have immigrated to the United States than among younger, American-born Hispanic women.
  • Marital status has an impact on drinking habits. Single, divorced, or separated women are more susceptible to drink heavily and experience alcohol-related issues than women who are married or widowed. Unmarried women who are living with a significant other are most susceptible to develop drinking habits.
  • In spite of their relatively low consumption levels, women account for almost one-half of cirrhosis fatalities among American Indians.
  • According to a 1990 household survey, 0.5 percent of women had consumed cocaine during the last month. That is an important diminution from a similar 1985 study, which estimated that 2 percent of women had used cocaine during the past month.
  • In 40 percent of 1989 emergency room episodes involving female patients, the motive for using narcotics was suicide, compared to 20 percent of male emergency room admissions.
  • The effect of alcohol appears to be more important upon women than men.
  • Abuse of prescribed tranquilizers is more common among females than men. In 1989, emergency room admissions resulting from Valium were 4.1 percent for women and 2.5 percent for males.
  • Women are more prone to alcohol-related liver damage. They develop liver disease in a shorter amount of time and at lower levels of use. The number of alcoholic females who develop alcohol-related liver disease is more elevated than among alcoholic men.
  • Repeated or sustained episodes of alcohol intoxication might suppress hormonal activity in females. Researches suggest that there is a more elevated prevalence of menstrual dysfunction and accelerated onset of menopause among alcoholic women. Other concerns such as obstetrical disorders and gynecological surgery are also more usual.
  • In 1990, 4 percent of women admitted using cannabis during the past month while 6 percent of men did. This amount is the same as a similar 1989 study which indicated that 4 percent of women had used marijuana in the past month.
  • Young females between the ages of 16 and 22 are more susceptible to smoke cigarettes than their male counterparts.
  • More than 4.8 million (8 percent) of the 60.1 million women 15-44 years of age (the childbearing years), have used an illegal drug in the past month. Slightly more than 500,000 (0.9) used cocaine and 3.9 million (6.5 percent) used cannabis in the past month.
  • It is approximated that the amount of women in the United States who drink has increased significantly over the last 40 years and that heavy drinking has increased among young, employed women. As much as 16 percent of these females may be consuming three to five drinks per day.
  • Over 80 percent of cases of AIDS in women are related with intravenous drug abuse. Under the influence of alcohol and other substances, individuals help to spread AIDS by engaging in high risk sexual activity with people who are IV drug abusers or HIV carriers.

Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office for Substance Abuse Prevention, 1991

Treatment and prevention of alcohol and narcotic abuse problems and related health conditions are estimated to have cost nearly $28.8 billion in 1992, of which about $18.8 billion was for alcohol problems and $9.9 billion was for drug abuse problems. Included in these approximations are the cost of specialty treatment, prevention, and support services for alcohol and drug abusers, as well as health care costs for treatment of the medical consequences of alcohol and narcotic abuse. Treatment of medical consequences includes inpatient and outpatient medical care, pharmaceuticals, and other services provided to individuals suffering from conditions like HIV/AIDS, infant drug or alcohol exposure, liver cirrhosis, and trauma. Treatment and prevention of alcohol and narcotic abuse disorders cost approximately $9.0 billion, and training, research, and insurance administration for treatment and prevention services cost another $1.0 billion.

  • Treatment of the medical consequences of alcohol and narcotic abuse cost approximately $18.8 billion.
  • Medical consequences of alcohol and narcotic abuse resulted in costs of $6.3 billion for hospitalizations and $4.9 billion for other health care services such as ambulatory care and medications.
  • Special disease groups cost about $6.5 billion, including approximately $3.7 billion for narcotic abuse-related HIV/AIDS cases, $462 million for hepatitis, and $407 million for drug-exposed newborns.
Estimates reported in this research are greater than would have been expected given inflation from the prior estimate by Rice et al. (1990) for 1985 of $8.9 billion. The majority of the disparities can be attributed to (1) application of specific causal factors to estimate alcohol-related hospital days and other health care utilization and (2) inclusion of drug-related cases of HIV/AIDS, hepatitis, and drug-exposed newborns.

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