A new study suggests that although women drink less than men, they are more susceptible to the negative medical consequences of alcohol use.
Duke University research found that women are more likely to develop cirrhosis of the liver, cardiac disease and cognitive impairments.
The study, published in the January issue of Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research, found that female rats are not only less sensitive to the sedating effects of alcohol, but that cycling hormonal levels can mediate alcohol's effects.
"In both humans and animal models, females can drink less and for a shorter period of time, and yet experience the same level of effects produced in males," said lead author Young May Cha, a research analyst at Duke University Medical Center.
"People generally think that alcohol is more potent in females, but that is because women are smaller than men and it generally takes fewer drinks for them to become impaired," said Cha. "Our study shows that when you control for that, and just look at the potency of alcohol on the brain mechanisms that cause sedation, females actually appear to be less sensitive to alcohol."
© Copyright 2006 by United Press International
