|
|
|
|
|
Quick Stats
Excessive
Alcohol Use and Risks to Men's Health
Men are more likely than women to
drink
excessively. Excessive drinking is associated with significant increases
in short-term risks to health and safety, and the risk increases as the
amount of drinking increases. Men are also more likely than women to take
other risks (e.g., drive fast or without a safety belt), when combined with
excessive drinking, further increasing their risk of injury or death.1,2,3,4
Drinking levels for men
- Approximately 62% of adult
men reported drinking alcohol in the last 30 days and were 2 times more
likely to
binge drink
than women during the same time period.5
- Men average about 12.5 binge drinking episodes per person per year,
while women average about 2.7 binge drinking
episodes per year.3
- Most people who binge drink are not alcoholics or alcohol dependent.6,7
- It is estimated that about
17% of men and about 8% of women will meet criteria for alcohol
dependence at some point in their lives.8
Injuries and deaths as a result of excessive alcohol use
- Men consistently have higher rates of alcohol-related deaths and
hospitalizations than women.1,9,10
- Among drivers in fatal motor-vehicle traffic crashes, men are almost
twice as likely as women to have been intoxicated (i.e., a blood alcohol
concentration of 0.08% or greater).11
- Excessive alcohol consumption increases aggression and, as a result,
can increase the risk of physically assaulting another person.12
- Men are more likely than women to commit suicide, and more likely to
have been drinking prior to committing suicide.13,14,15
Reproductive Health and Sexual Function
Excessive alcohol use can interfere with testicular function and male
hormone production, resulting in impotence, infertility, and reduction of
male secondary sex characteristics such as facial and chest hair.16, 17
Excessive alcohol use is commonly involved in sexual assault. Impaired
judgment caused by alcohol may worsen the tendency of some men to mistake a
women’s friendly behavior for sexual interest and misjudge their use of
force. Also, alcohol use by men increases the chances of engaging in risky
sexual activity including, unprotected sex, sex with multiple partners, or
sex with a partner at risk for sexually transmitted diseases.4
Cancer
Alcohol consumption increases the risk of cancer of the mouth, throat,
esophagus, liver, and colon in men.18,19,20
There are a number of health conditions affected by excessive alcohol use
that affect both men and women. Some additional conditions are covered in
the General Information on Alcohol Use and Health
Fact Sheet.
References:
- Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention (CDC). Alcohol-Related Disease Impact (ARDI). Atlanta,
GA: CDC. Available at
http://www.cdc.gov/alcohol/ardi.htm.
Accessed March 28, 2008.
- Levy DT, Mallonee S, Miller TR, Smith GS, Spicer RS, Romano EO,
Fisher DA.
Alcohol involvement in burn, submersion, spinal cord,
and brain injuries. Med Sci Monit 2004; 10(1):CR17–24.
- Naimi TS, Brewer RD, Mokdad A, Clark D, Serdula MK,
Marks JS.
Binge
drinking among US adults. JAMA 2003; 289(1):70–75.
- Nolen-Hoeksema S.
Gender differences in risk factors and
consequences for alcohol use and problems. Clinical Psychology Review
2004;24:981.
- Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention. Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System prevalence data.
Atlanta, GA: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Available at
www.cdc.gov/brfss.
Accessed March 28, 2008.
- Dawson DA, Grant BF, LI T-K.
Quantifying the risks associated with exceeding recommended drinking
limits. Alcohol Clin Exp Res 2005;29:902–908.
- Woerle S, Roeber J, Landen MG. Prevalence of alcohol dependence
among excessive drinkers in New Mexico. Alcohol Clin Exp Res
2007;31:293–298.
- Hasin DS, Stinson FS, Ogburn
E, Grant BF. Prevalence, correlates, disability, and comorbidity of
DSM-IV alcohol abuse and dependence in the United States. Arch Gen
Psychiatry. 2007;64:830-842.
- Minino AM, Heron MP, Murphy
SL, Kochanek KD. Deaths: final data for 2004.
National Vital Statistics Report,
Volume 55, No. 19, August 21, 2007. Hyattsville, MD: Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics. Available
at
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr55/nvsr55_19.pdf
(PDF). Accessed March 28, 2008.
- Chen CM, Yi H. Trends in
alcohol-related morbidity among short-stay community hospital
discharges, United States, 1979–2005. Bethesda, MD: National Institutes
of Health, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. NIAAA
Surveillance Report #80; 2007. Available at
http://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/surveillance80/HDS05.pdf
(PDF). Accessed March 28, 2008.
- National Highway Traffic
Safety Administration.
Traffic Safety Facts 2006.
Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Transportation, National Highway
Traffic Safety Administration, National Center for Statistics &
Analysis. DOT HS 810 818; 2008. Available at
http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/CMSWeb/index.aspx.
Accessed March 28, 2008.
- Scott KD, Schafer J, Greenfield TK.
The roles of alcohol in physical assault perpetration and victimization.
J Stud Alcohol 1999;60:528–536.
- Hayward l, Zubrick SR, Silburn S.
Blood alcohol levels in suicide cases. J Epidemiol Community
Health 1992;46(3):256–260.
- May PA, Van Winkle NW, Williams MB, McFeeley PJ, DeBruyn LM, Serna
P.
Alcohol and suicide death among American Indians of New Mexico:
1980-1998. Suicide Life Threat Behav 2002;32(3):240–255.
- Suokas J, Suominen K, Lonnqvist J.
Chronic alcohol problems among suicide attempters—post-mortem findings
of a 14-year follow-up. Nord J Psychiatry 2005;59(1):45–50.
- Adler RA.
Clinically important effects of alcohol on endocrine function. Journal Clinical Endocr Metabol 1992;74(5):957–960.
- Emanuele MA, Emanuele NV.
Alcohol’s effects on male reproduction. Alcohol Research and
Health 1998; 22(3):195–201.
- American Cancer Society.
Alcohol and Cancer. Atlanta, GA: American Cancer Society; 2006.
Available at
http://www.cancer.org/downloads/PRO/alcohol.pdf*(PDF).
Accessed March 28, 2008.
- Donato F, Tagger A, Chiesa R, Ribero ML, Tomasoni V, Fasola M, et
al.
Hepatitis B and C virus infection, alcohol drinking and hepatocellular
carcinoma: a case-control study in Italy. Hepatology
1997;26(3):579–584.
- Baan R, Straif K, Grosse Y, Secretan B, et al. on behalf of the WHO
International Agency for Research on Cancer Monograph Working Group.
Carcinogenicity of alcoholic beverages. Lancet Oncol
2007;8:292-293.
One or more documents on this Web page is available in Portable Document Format
(PDF). You will need Acrobat
Reader to view and print these documents.
* Links to non-Federal organizations are
provided solely as a service to our users. Links do not constitute an
endorsement of any organization by CDC or the Federal Government, and none
should be inferred. The CDC is not responsible for the content of the individual
organization Web pages found at this link.
Page last reviewed: August 6, 2008
Page last modified: August 6, 2008
Content source: Division of Adult and Community Health,
National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and
Health Promotion |
|