Women benefit more from moderate drinking than men

Main Category: Alcohol / Addiction / Illegal Drugs
Article Date: 16 May 2004 - 0:00 PDT

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Women may reap more healthy benefits from light to moderate drinking than men, according to a new study in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research.

Drinking at a light to moderate level meant consuming one or two drinks on two or three occasions per week, according to Carla Green, Ph.D., M.P.H., and colleagues at the Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research and Oregon Health & Science University.

"Light to moderate consumption and more frequent drinking were associated with better general health and physical functioning for both genders, but these effects appear to be stronger for women than for men," Green says.

The researchers did not find any significant connection between gender and drinking habits and mental health.

Green and colleagues say many earlier studies have focused on the health consequences of drinking a given amount of alcohol, although men and women may have different drinking habits, metabolism and body compositions that can affect the link between health and moderate drinking.

After surveying drinking habits and health among 3,069 men and 2,600 women enrolled in Kaiser Permanente Northwest, a health maintenance organization that provides care to 430,000 members in the Pacific Northwest. The researchers studied the connection between the amount and frequency of drinking and health among the participants.

Men in the survey were more likely to drink and more likely to drink heavily, the researchers found.

The connection between drinking patterns, health and gender remained even after taking into account biological factors like the difference in total body water between women and men.

Green and colleagues also found that teetotaling women were significantly more likely to report worse physical functioning than men who didn't drink.

"It is possible that this reflects greater likelihood that women will avoid or stop drinking in response to health concerns than men," Green says.

The study was supported by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.

By Becky Ham, Science Writer
Health Behavior News Service

Health Behavior News Service: (202) 387-2829 or www.hbns.org.
Interviews: Contact Terry Fitzpatrick, Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research,
at (503) 335-6602 or Terry.Fitzpatrick@kpchr.org.
Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research: Contact Mary Newcomb
at (317) 375-0819 or mnewcomb-acer@earthlink.net, or visit www.alcoholism-cer.com.

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