1. The compulsive consumption of and psychophysiological dependence on alcoholic beverages. 2. A chronic, progressive pathological condition, mainly affecting the nervous and digestive systems, caused by the excessive and habitual consumption of alcohol. Also called chronic alcoholism. 3. Temporary mental disturbance and muscular incoordination caused by excessive consumption of alcohol. Also called acute alcoholism. [alkhôlizm] observations The most frequent medical consequences of alcoholism are central nervous system depression and cirrhosis. The severity of each may be greater in the absence of food intake. Alcoholic patients also may suffer from alcoholic gastritis, peripheral neuropathies, auditory hallucinations, and cardiac problems. Abrupt withdrawal of alcohol in addiction causes weakness, sweating, and hyperreflexia. The severe form of alcohol withdrawal is delirium tremens. n a chronic condition characterized by dependence on alcohol, often accompanied by its behavioral and health consequences. n the continued extreme dependence on excessive amounts of alcohol, accompanied by a cumulative pattern of deviant behaviors. The most frequent consequences are chronic gastritis, central nervous system depression, and cirrhosis of the liver, each of which can compromise the delivery of dental care. Oral cancer and increased levels of periodontal disease are also risks. Chronic alcohol abuse, dependence, or addiction; chronic excessive drinking of alcoholic beverages resulting in impairment of health or of social or occupational functioning, and increasing tolerance requiring increasing doses to achieve and sustain the desired effect. Symptoms of withdrawal may occur on sudden cessation of alcohol intake. Alcoholism is a chronic, progressive behavioral disorder characterized by a strong urge to consume ethanol and an inability to limit the amount of drinking despite adverse consequences, including social or occupational impairment and deterioration of physical health. The disorder includes both physical dependence (withdrawal symptoms such as nausea, sweating, tremors, and delirium resulting from abstinence) and tolerance (the need to increase alcohol intake to achieve the desired effect). Excessive drinking may occur daily or during binges separated by intervals of sobriety lasting from days to months. About 30% of U.S. adults drink to excess at least occasionally, and 3-5% of women and 10% of men have chronic problems of excessive drinking. In approximately 40% of those who habitually abuse alcohol, a pattern of inappropriate drinking is evident before age 20. Alcoholism is frequently accompanied by addiction to nicotine and other drugs, anxiety, depression, and antisocial personality. It tends to run in families, but personal history and environmental factors are apparently at least as important as genetic predisposition. Behavioral traits that are typical of alcoholism include solitary drinking, morning drinking, lying about the extent of one's drinking, and maintenance of a secret supply of liquor. Alcoholism costs the U.S. approximately $200 billion yearly. Chronic alcoholism decreases life expectancy by about 15 years. It is associated with an increased incidence of cardiac arrhythmia, hypertension, stroke, acute hepatitis, cirrhosis, gastritis, pancreatitis, syncope, amnesia and personality change. Because ethanol is a rich source of nonnutritive calories, heavy drinking often leads to malnutrition and vitamin deficiency. Degenerative central nervous system disorders associated with alcoholism include Wernicke encephalopathy (due to thiamine deficiency) and Korsakoff psychosis. Alcoholics are more likely than nonalcoholics to be involved in automobile accidents (more than 25% of all traffic deaths involve alcohol) and to commit violent crimes, including spousal and child abuse and homicide. A child born to an alcoholic mother may suffer the stigmata of fetal alcohol syndrome, characterized by low birth weight, facial dysmorphism, cardiac anomalies, and mental retardation. The treatment of alcoholism requires intensive counseling of patient and family. Cognitive-behavioral therapy, motivational enhancement therapy, group therapy, and support groups are all of proven value. Administration of benzodiazepines during withdrawal and use of topiramate or naltrexone to maintain abstinence are often effective. Disulfiram taken regularly can lower the risk of relapse by inducing severe malaise and nausea if alcohol is consumed. Detoxification programs for the management of acute alcoholic intoxication include withdrawal of all alcohol consumption and provision of nutritional, pharmacologic, and psychological support. alcoholophobia. A chronic, progressive behavioral disorder characterized by a strong urge to consume ethanol and an inability to limit the amount of drinking despite adverse consequences, which may include social or occupational impairment and deterioration of physical health. Both physical dependence (withdrawal symptoms such as nausea, sweating, tremors, and delirium resulting from abstinence) and tolerance (the need to increase alcohol intake to achieve the desired effect) occur. Chronic alcohol abuse, dependence, or addiction; chronic excessive drinking of alcoholic beverages resulting in impairment of health or of social or occupational functioning, and increasing tolerance requiring increasing doses to achieve and sustain the desired effect. Symptoms of withdrawal may occur on sudden cessation of alcohol intake. Q. Alcoholism Steve 26 yr old suffered with bi-polar and the related drugs that eventually lead to his over dose. He died in where he felt a connection to the intellectual environment. After suffering with Steve for so many years, I am convinced that this disease is genetic; his grandmother also suffered with drug addiction and a mental disorder, but had that gene that must have been inherited by Steve.
Any one in the area of mental health and genetic engineering Research? We want to set up or get involved with public awareness on the devastation of this disease which kills 100+ thousands in this country each year; yet society treats it as a social problem -- The advancement of mental research has been slow almost medieval -- Please help. No one, no family should have to suffer the way my beautiful son suffered and who had so much to give to humanity. A. I,m going to tell you a story: I was born in Newark,New Jersey in 1956,my sister was born 1953.Me an my sister were both born with asthma.my mother liked to party alot with her friends,an my father drank at work sometimes an when he got home,every day at 5pm.One day when i was 6yrs old,my sister got sick(asthma attack). I remember my grand mother trying to get my mother to take my sister to the hospital,to call my father,finally when my sister almost stopped breath she was taken to the hospital-it was to late.If my parents had of been sober my sister would be here to day,This was my first exsperiance with ALCOHOL---growing up was not easy when i was young i used to go hide when my father came home(IT WAS VERY BAD) my father used to come home from work,get drunk an start to holla at my mother if denner was not the way he liked--he would holla,yell for no reason most of the time(THIS MAN WAS EVIL)--in those days people did not care about addiction like now-he is dead thank god? Q. ALCOHOLISM what effect does it have on the digestive system? Alcohol is well known to damage the pancreas and the liver, important parts of the digestive tract. You may read more here: Q. alcoholism I am 17 years old and I love to drink alcohol. I go out partying and drinking every night with my friends. How can I tell if I am an alcoholic or just like to drink? A. At age 17, it may seem like fun to go out and party and get drunk every night, but its symptomatic that you have let your self cross over the line that leads to self destruction. You have already admitted that you are worried about becoming an alcoholic and being referred to as a "drunk". If that bothers you, you had better get help or stop. If it doesn't bother you that people see you as "a drunk", then there's no point in anyone making any further replies to your post. Sooner or later, something bad will surely happen, that may make you wise up. But for many alcoholics which includes me, they have to hit absolute "rock bottom". Your life will surely go "south" if you keep it up, until you either wise up because of the hangovers, or you get to the bitter end of your rope. The end of the rope could be any of the following: jail, death, car wreck, lose job, lose spouse through divorce, get thrown out of the house, get sick from heart disease, becoAlcoholism
Definition
Alcoholism or alcohol dependence is defined by the American Medical Association (AMA) as "a primary, chronic disease with genetic, psychosocial, and environmental factors influencing its development and manifestations."Description
Alcoholism is characterized by:
The effects of alcoholism are far reaching. Alcohol affects every body system, causing a wide range of health problems. Problems include poor nutrition, memory disorders, difficulty with balance and walking, liver disease (including cirrhosis and hepatitis), high blood pressure, muscle weakness (including the heart), heart rhythm disturbances, anemia, clotting disorders, decreased immunity to infections, gastrointestinal inflammation and irritation, acute and chronic problems with the pancreas, low blood sugar, high blood fat content, interference with reproductive fertility, increased risk of cancer of the liver, esophagus, and breast, weakened bones, sleep disturbances, anxiety, and depression. About 20% of adults admitted to the hospital (for any reason) are alcohol dependent. Men are more than twice as likely to be alcohol dependent than women, and smokers who are alcohol dependent are much more likely to develop serious or fatal health problems associated with alcoholism.
On a personal level, alcoholism, in many cases, leads to difficulties in marital and other relationships, domestic violence, child abuse or neglect, difficulty finding or keeping a job, impaired school or work performance, homelessness, and legal problems such as driving while intoxicated (DUI).
According to information derived from the United States National Longitudinal Alcohol Epidemiologic Study released in 2006, about 8% of American adults are dependent on alcohol (estimates range from 5-10%). About 34% of adult Americans do not use alcohol at all. Another 44% are occasional or non-dependent users. Alcohol is the third leading cause of preventable death in the United States (smoking and obesity rank first and second) and is responsible for about 85,000 deaths annually, about half from injury and half from disease. Alcoholism is involved in about 30% of homicides and 22% of suicides. It is the cause of about 20% of fatal motor vehicle accidents and is a contributing factor in between one-third and one-half of all vehicular accidents. Alcoholism costs the United States about $185 billion annually in costs related to violence, traffic accidents, lost work productivity, and direct medical expenses. The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism estimates that at least 6.6 million children under age 18 live in households with at least one alcoholic parent and that before age 18 about 25% of children are exposed to family alcohol dependency or alcohol abuse.Causes and symptoms
The risk of developing alcoholism has a definite genetic component. Studies have demonstrated that close relatives of people with alcoholism are more likely to become alcoholics themselves. This risk exists even for children adopted away from their biological families at birth and raised in a non-alcoholic adoptive family with no knowledge of their biological family's alcohol use. However, no specific gene for alcoholism has been found, and environmental factors (e.g., stress) and social factors (e.g., peer behavior) are thought to play a role in whether a person becomes alcohol dependent.
Recently some researchers have suggested that there are two distinct types of alcoholism. According to these researchers, type 1 alcoholism develops in adulthood, often in the early twenties. It is most often associated with the desire to relieve stress and anxiety and is not associated with any criminal or antisocial behavior. Type 2 alcoholism develops earlier, usually during the teenage years. Drinking is done primarily to get high. Type 2 alcoholism is associated with violence, destructiveness, and other criminal and antisocial behavior. Those who study alcoholism do not universally accept the distinction between these two types of alcoholism. Research continues in this area.
The symptoms of alcoholism can be broken down into two major categories: symptoms of acute alcohol use and symptoms of long-term alcohol use.Immediate (acute) effects of alcohol use
Alcohol exerts a depressive effect on the brain. The blood-brain barrier does not prevent alcohol from entering the brain, so the brain alcohol level will quickly become equivalent to the blood alcohol level. In the brain, alcohol interacts with various neurotransmitters to alter nerve function. Alcohol's depressive effects result in difficulty walking, poor balance, slurring of speech, and generally poor coordination (accounting in part for the increased likelihood of injury). The affected person also may have impairment of peripheral vision. At higher alcohol levels, a person's breathing and heart rates may be slowed and vomiting may occur (with a high risk of the vomit being breathed into the lungs, potentially resulting in aspiration pneumonia.) Still higher alcohol levels may result in coma and death.Effects of long-term (chronic) alcoholism
Long-term use of alcohol affects virtually every organ system of the body:Alcoholism during pregnancy
A large body of evidence indicates that maternal alcohol consumption during pregnancy contributes adversely to a fetus's development. Abnormalities in infants and children associated with maternal alcohol consumption may include prenatal and postnatal physical retardation, neurological deficits (e.g., impaired attention control), mental retardation, behavioral problems (e.g., impulsivity), skull or brain malformations, and facial malformations (e.g., a thin upper lip and elongated flattened midface). These abnormalities, influenced by maternal alcohol consumption during pregnancy, are referred to as fetal alcohol effects (FAEs), or fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) if a sufficient number of effects are apparent in the child.
FAS is the leading cause of mental retardation in the United States. One to two of every 1,000 infants born in the United States are afflicted with FAS. The incidence of FAS in children whose mothers drink heavily is 4% much higher than the rate in the general population. Research studies that have followed infants with FAS and FAEs across time have found that many of these children continue to have cognitive difficulties (e.g., lower IQ scores, more learning problems, poorer short-term memory functioning) and behavioral problems (e.g., high impulsivity, high activity level) into childhood and adolescence.Diagnosis
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, Text Revision (DSM-IV-T)R requires three of the following traits to be present for a diagnosis of alcohol dependence:
No laboratory tests exist that can screen for alcoholism with a high level of accuracy. Most alcoholism is diagnosed through patient and family history. However, alcoholism can be difficult to diagnose until late-stage physical symptoms become apparent because alcohol-dependent people often lie or about underestimate their alcohol use. In addition, many physicians do not routinely screen their patients using standardized questionnaires that may reveal alcohol problems.
Diagnosis is aided by administering specific psychological assessments that help to indicate what aspects of a person's life may be affected by alcohol use. Determining the exact quantity of alcohol that a person drinks is less important than determining how drinking affects relationships, jobs, educational goals, and family life. Because the metabolism (how the body breaks down and processes) of alcohol varies among individuals, the quantity of alcohol consumed is not part of the criteria list for diagnosing either alcohol dependence or alcohol abuse.
One tool for initiating the diagnosis of alcoholism is the CAGE questionnaire. It consists of four questions, with the first letters of each key word spelling out the word CAGE. Answering yes two or more of these questions suggests an alcohol problem exists and should be addressed.
Another longer questionnaire called the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) is helpful in illuminating problems of alcohol abuse such as binge drinking that may be missed with the CAGE questionnaire.Treatment
Treatment of alcoholism often is a combination of inpatient and outpatient therapy depending on the individual's alcohol history and physical condition. The person with alcoholism often resists the idea that he or she has an alcohol problem and needs to stop drinking. Treatment cannot be forced on adults unless it is a condition imposed by a court of law. However, if the person is a danger to him- or herself or to others, immediate hospitalization may be possible without the individual's consent.
The first step in the treatment of alcoholism, called detoxification, involves helping the person stop drinking and ridding his or her body of the harmful (toxic) effects of alcohol. Because the person's brain and body has become accustomed to alcohol, the alcohol-dependent person will most likely develop withdrawal symptoms and need to be supported through them. Withdrawal will be different for different individuals, depending on the severity of the alcoholism as measured by the quantity of alcohol ingested daily and the length of time the patient has been alcohol dependent.
Withdrawal symptoms can range from mild to life threatening. Mild withdrawal symptoms include nausea, achiness, diarrhea, difficulty sleeping, sweatiness, anxiety, and trembling. This phase usually lasts no more than three to five days. More severe effects of withdrawal can include hallucinations in which a patient sees, hears, or feels something that is not actually present, seizures, an unbearable craving for more alcohol, confusion, fever, fast heart rate (tachycardia), high blood pressure (hypertension), and delirium (a fluctuating level of consciousness). Patients at highest risk for the most severe symptoms of withdrawal are those with other medical problems, including malnutrition, liver disease, or Wernicke's syndrome. Severe withdrawal symptoms usually begin about three days after the individual's last drink, and may last a variable number of days.
People going through mild withdrawal are monitored to make sure that more severe symptoms do not develop. Medications usually are unnecessary. Treatment of a patient suffering more severe effects of withdrawal may require sedative medications to relieve the discomfort of withdrawal and to avoid the potentially life-threatening complications of high blood pressure, fast heart rate, and seizures. Benzodiazepine drugs may be helpful in those patients experiencing hallucinations. If the patient vomits for an extended period, fluids may need to be given through a vein (intravenously, IV). Thiamine (a vitamin) is often included in the fluids, because thiamine levels are often very low in alcohol-dependent patients, and deficiency of thiamine is responsible for the Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome.
After the individual is no longer drinking and has passed through withdrawal, the next steps involve helping the individual avoid relapsing and a return to drinking. This phase of treatment is referred to as rehabilitation. It can continue for a lifetime. Many programs incorporate the family into rehabilitation therapy, because the family has likely been severely affected by the patient's drinking. Some therapists believe that family members, in an effort to deal with their loved one's drinking problem, develop patterns of behavior that unintentionally support or enable the patient's drinking. This situation is referred to as co-dependence. These patterns should addressed in order to help successfully treat a person's alcoholism.
Sessions led by peers, in which recovering alcoholics meet regularly and provide support for each other's recoveries, are considered among the best methods of preventing a return to drinking. The best-known group following this model is Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), which uses a 12-step program and a buddy (sponsor) system to help people avoid drinking. The AA steps involve recognizing the destructive power that alcohol has held over the individual's life, looking to a higher power for help in overcoming the problem, reflecting on the ways in which the use of alcohol has hurt others and, if possible, making amends to those people. According to the American Psychological Association (APA), anyone, regardless of his or her religious beliefs or lack of religious beliefs, can benefit from participation in 12-step programs such as AA. The number of visits to 12-step self-help groups exceeds the number of visits to all mental health professionals combined.
Medications also are available that may help a recovering alcoholic avoid returning to drinking. These have been used with variable success; different medications may be more or less successful for different individuals. Disulfiram (Antabuse) is a drug which, when mixed with alcohol, causes unpleasant reactions including nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and trembling. It was estimated that in 2008, 200,000 recovering alcoholics in the United States were taking disulfiram. Naltrexone (Depade, ReVia) helps to reduce the brain's craving for alcohol. Acamprosate (Campral) works by reducing anxiety and insomnia that often occur when habitual drinkers become abstinent. Drugs alone will not prevent relapse. They are most effective when used in conjunction with a self-help program and/or psychotherapy aimed at changing behavior.Alternative treatment
Alternative treatments may be a helpful adjunct for the recovering alcoholic once the medical danger of withdrawal has passed. Stress is a drinking trigger for many people. Alternative therapies can help the recovering alcoholic eliminate or manage stress. These therapies include massage, meditation, hypnotherapy, yoga, and acupuncture.
Malnutrition caused by long-term alcohol use may be addressed by nutrition-oriented practitioners with careful attention to a healthy diet and the use of nutritional supplements such as vitamins A, B complex, and C, as well as certain fatty acids, amino acids, zinc, magnesium, and selenium.
Herbal treatments include milk thistle (Silybum marianum), which is thought to protect the liver against damage. Other herbs are thought to be helpful for the patient suffering through withdrawal. Some of these include lavender (Lavandula officinalis), skullcap (Scutellaria lateriflora), chamomile (Matricaria recutita), peppermint (Mentha piperita) yarrow (Achillea millefolium), and valerian (Valeriana officinalis).Prognosis
Recovery from alcoholism is a life-long process. The potential for relapse remains present and must be acknowledged and respected. Many individuals stop drinking and then relapse multiple times before attaining extended periods of sobriety. Statistics suggest that, among middle-class alcohol-dependent individuals in stable financial and family situations who have undergone treatment, 60% or more successfully stop drinking for at least one year.Prevention
Prevention must begin at a young age since the first instance of intoxication usually occurs during the teenage years. It is particularly important that teenagers who are at high risk for alcoholism-those with a family history of alcoholism, early or frequent use of alcohol, a tendency to drink to drunkenness, alcohol use that interferes with school work, a poor family environment, or a history of domestic violence -receive education about alcohol and its long-term effects. How this is best achieved, without alienating these young people and thus losing their attention, is the subject of continuing debate and study.Key Terms
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Alcoholism
Alcoholism treatment
Detoxification (Substance abuse treatment)alcoholism
/al·co·hol·ism/ (al?kah-hol-izm) a disorder marked by a pathological pattern of alcohol use that causes serious impairment in social or occupational functioning. It includes both alcohol abuse and alcohol dependence.al·co·hol·ism
(lk-ho-lzm)alcoholism
alcoholism
A condition characterised by a pathologic pattern of alcohol use causing a serious impairment in social or occupational functioning; also defined by the Joint Committee of the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence & the American Society of Addiction Medicine as a primary, chronic disease with genetic, psychosocial, and environmental factors influencing its development and manifestations. The disease is often progressive and fatal. It is characterised by distortions in thinking, most notably denial. A simpler, operational definition is persistent drinking that interferes with the persons health, legal position, interpersonal relationships, or means of livelihood. Alcoholism is characterised by the regular intake of 75 g/day of alcohol.
Chronic effects Co-morbidity due to portal hypertension, hepatic failure, hyperoestrogenemia, infections (especially pneumonia) which may be due to alcohol-induced suppression of various immune defences, psychosocial disruption, transient hyperparathyroidism with decreased Ca2+, decreased Mg2+, osteoporosis.
Epidemiology (UK) 9% are heavy drinkers, 2% problem drinkers, 1% alcoholics.
Statistics (US) Alcohol causes half a million hospital admissions/year, 17,000 psychiatric admissions, 80% of all fire-related deaths, 65% of serious head injuries, 50% of homicides, 40% of RTAs/MVAs, 33% of divorces, 33% child abuse cases, 30% of fatal accidents, 30% of domestic accidents, 8 million working days lost, ?1.6 billion annual cost to society.
Criteria for alcohol dependence
Drinking >10 units/day
Tolerance to effects of high blood alcohol concentration
Withdrawal symptoms on stopping or reducing consumption
Compulsion to continue drinking despite the problems it causes
Abnormal lab tests.alcoholism,
alcoholism,
alcoholism
Substance abuse A condition characterized by a pathologic pattern of alcohol use causing a serious impairment in social or occupational functioning; also defined as a 'primary, chronic, disease with genetic, psychosocial, and environmental factors influencing its development and manifestations. The disease is often progressive and fatal. It is characterized by distortions in thinking, most notably denial'; alcoholism is characterized by the regular intake of 75 g/day of alcohol Chronic effects Co-morbidity due to portal HTN, hepatic failure, hyperestrogenemia, infectionsespecially pneumonia, which may be due to alcohol-induced suppression of various immune defenses, psychosocial disruption, transient hyperparathyroidism with Ca2+, Mg2+, osteoporosis. See Blood alcohol levels, Standard drink.al·co·hol·ism
(al'k-hol-izm), [MIM*103780] al·co·hol·ism
al·co·hol·ism
(al'k-hol-ism) al·co·hol·ism
(al'k-hol-ism) [MIM*103780] Patient discussion about alcoholism
www.mayoclinic.com/health/alcohol/SC00024
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