What Do You Know About Alcohol Use Disorder?

The highest rate of alcohol use disorder is among young adults 18 to 29 years old. But no matter what age, alcohol use disorder can lead to many health problems. These include liver disease, harm to the immune system, and brain damage. Heavy drinking raises the risk of getting cancer of the liver, esophagus, throat, and larynx. Alcohol also raises the risk for death from car crashes, falls in older adults, and work-related injuries.

For females, it's only 1 standard drink. For males, it's 2 drinks. A drink is defined as 1 12-ounce bottle or can of beer or wine cooler, 1 5-ounce glass of wine, or 1.5 ounces of 80-proof distilled spirits. Females have a lower recommended drinking limit than males because the female body doesn't process the same amount of alcohol as quickly as the male body. Heavy drinking is defined as more than 14 drinks a week for males, and more than 7 drinks per week for females. Binge drinking is defined as having 5 or more drinks on an occasion for males or 4 or more drinks on an occasion for females.

Healthcare providers use a guideline called the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) to diagnose alcohol use disorder. If you meet at least 2 of the 11 signs over a 12-month period, you are diagnosed with the disorder. Depending on how many signs of alcohol use disorder you meet, your diagnosis could be mild, moderate, or severe.

A person who has a family history of alcohol use disorder is at greater risk for abusing alcohol. But research shows that genes are responsible for only half of the risk for alcohol use disorder. Things in a person’s environment also add to the risk. So does the combination of a person’s genes and their environment.

Severe alcoholism is now called severe alcohol use disorder. Its symptoms may include:

• A strong craving for alcohol.
• A loss of control over how much alcohol is consumed at any one time, no matter the consequences.
• Withdrawal symptoms such as tremor or nausea if alcohol is not consumed regularly.
• The need for more and more alcohol to feel good.

A person with mild, moderate, or severe alcohol use disorder can get help from treatment.

Mixing alcohol with over-the-counter or prescription medicines can be dangerous or even deadly. As people age, they are often prescribed more than 1 medicine for long-term (chronic) health problems. Many medicines interact harmfully with alcohol. Alcohol also can make many chronic conditions worse. These include high blood pressure and ulcers. Older people also have slower reaction times. They also may have problems with balance, hearing, and seeing. They also tend to have more brittle bones that can break easier in a fall. These things combined with drinking can raise the risk for falls, car crashes, and other injuries in older adults.

Alcohol use disorder also increases your risk for type 2 diabetes, stroke, heart attack, falls, and accidental death. Alcohol use disorder may also make depression worse and affect memory.

According to the 2023 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 13.6% of American Indian or Alaska Native adults had AUD in the past year. 11.6% of White adults, 10.5% of Black or African American adults, and 10.1% of Hispanic or Latino adults had AUD.