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The modern disease theory of alcoholism states that problem drinking is sometimes caused by a disease of the brain, characterized by altered brain structure and function. Today, alcohol use disorder (AUD) is used as a more scientific and suitable approach to alcohol dependence and alcohol-related problems. [1]
Within the medical and scientific communities, there is a broad consensus regarding alcoholism as a disease state. For example, the American Medical Association considers alcohol a drug and states that "drug addiction is a chronic, relapsing brain disease characterized by compulsive drug seeking and use despite often devastating consequences.
As Gen-Z drinks less, other age groups follow suit. The most recent National Survey on Drug Use and Health found less than two-thirds of Americans drank alcohol at least once in 2022. According to ...
Alcohol use is a major cause of preventable liver disease worldwide, and alcoholic liver disease is the main alcohol-related chronic medical illness. [6] Millions of people of all ages, from adolescents to the elderly, engage in unhealthy drinking. [7] In the United States, excessive alcohol use costs more than $249 billion annually. [8]
Dipsomania is a historical term describing a medical condition involving an uncontrollable craving for alcohol or other drugs. [1] In the 19th century, the term dipsomania was used to refer to a variety of alcohol-related problems, most of which are known today as alcohol use disorder. Dipsomania is occasionally still used to describe a ...
Thiamine deficiency, in particular, is common in people with alcohol use disorder and can lead to a condition known as beriberi, which can damage the heart muscle. [4] Furthermore, chronic alcohol consumption can also lead to other cardiovascular risk factors, such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol levels, and obesity, which can ...
The level of ethanol consumption that minimizes the risk of disease, injury, and death is subject to some controversy. [16] Several studies have found a J-shaped relationship between alcohol consumption and health, [17] [18] [2] [19] meaning that risk is minimized at a certain (non-zero) consumption level, and drinking below or above this level increases risk, with the risk level of drinking a ...
That alcoholism is as much a social as a medical condition. "Alcoholism can simultaneously reflect both a conditioned habit and a disease." [2] Factors predicting alcoholism were related to ethnic culture, alcoholism in relatives, and a personality that is antisocial and extroverted.