Risky Alcohol Use Affects Women’s Health Across the Lifespan

By Diana Ling, MA, Senior Program Manager; and Anna Mangum, MSW, MPH, Senior Health Strategist; Health Behavior Research and Training Institute (HBRT); The University of Texas at Austin School of Social Work

Every year, beginning on Mother’s Day, National Women’s Health Week encourages women of all ages to prioritize their health. Social workers play a valuable role in making alcohol screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment (SBIRT) part of routine practice for all clients, including women. Females ages 12 and older are the fastest-growing group of alcohol users in the U.S., and drinking impacts women’s health at every stage of life.

Women of Reproductive Age

About half of pregnancies in the U.S. are unplanned, and most women will not know they are pregnant for up to four to six weeks. Any alcohol use during pregnancy can lead to harmful health outcomes, including miscarriage, stillbirth, premature delivery, and sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). Alcohol-exposed pregnancy can also lead to  fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASDs), a range of lifelong disabilities that can include mental health conditions, learning disabilities, and physical manifestations such as heart defects.

Older Women

In older women, alcohol use can worsen menopause symptoms.  Moderate to heavy drinking can intensify and increase the frequency of hot flashes and night sweats, as alcohol often causes body temperature to rise. Sleep issues, another common symptom of menopause, can also become more of a problem with alcohol use, which interferes with sleep quality. In addition, alcohol affects elderly women due to age-related changes in metabolism and body composition, increasing the risk of falls, medication interactions, and cognitive problems, even at lower levels of drinking.

Women of All Ages

Regardless of age, women experience alcohol-related problems sooner and at lower amounts of drinking than men. On average, women weigh less and have less water in their bodies, resulting in a higher blood alcohol concentration in a woman who drinks the same amount of alcohol as a man of the same weight. As a result, women face higher risks for alcohol-related brain damage, liver damage, and heart disease than men. Research has also shown a strong link between alcohol use and breast cancer in women, with one drink a day raising breast cancer risk by 10 percent compared to women who do not drink.

Universal Screening for Prevention Practice

Social workers can take a leading role in women’s health—and help prevent FASDs—by implementing universal alcohol SBIRT. More than 40 years of research shows alcohol screening and brief intervention works to reduce risky alcohol use. Alcohol SBIRT involves using an evidence-based set of screening questions to identify clients’ drinking patterns, followed by a short conversation with those who are drinking too much, as well as referral to treatment when appropriate.

Learn More

Practice Perspectives: Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) for Risky Alcohol and Other Substance Use (NASW)

Video Series: Lived Experiences with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (CDC)

Alcohol and Pregnancy (CDC)

Drink Size Badge Card  (HBRT in partnership with NASW Foundation, Oak Ridge Associated Universities and CDC)

SBIRT Pocket Card (HBRT in partnership with NASW Foundation, Oak Ridge Associated Universities and CDC)

The Healthcare Professional’s Core Resource on Alcohol (NIAAA, CEs available)

FASD National Partner Network: Ready-to-Use Materials

Alcohol and Cancer Risk: The U.S. Surgeon General’s Advisory

This initiative, Engaging Social Workers in Preventing Alcohol- and Other Substance-Exposed Pregnancies, is supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services as part of a financial assistance award totaling $1,222,292 with 100 percent funded by CDC/HHS. The contents are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement by, CDC/HHS, or the U.S. Government.