7-26-05

Alcoholism

Physicians are being encouraged to do more to screen patients for heavy drinking and alcohol use disorders. A new guide has been issued by the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism to help identify these patients.

About ten percent of U.S. adults drink at levels that increase their risk for physical, psychological and social problems. Of heavy drinkers, about one in four currently has alcohol dependence. Ron Kanwischer, assistant professor of psychiatry at SIU School of Medicine in Springfield, says heavy drinking can cause many health problems.

SOUND BITE: " . . .some people can have ah variety of organ failures as a result of long-term heavy drinking and typically, that’s what it takes. It takes many years of drinking and generally drinking lots of alcohol. Some people are more naturally protected against it, but others are more vulnerable to it."

Kanwischer says heavy drinking of alcohol also can cause legal consequences, family conflicts and depression. He says women are much more susceptible to some of the medical problems associated with alcohol than men are, because their bodies processes alcohol differently than men. He explains some of the treatments for alcohol dependency.

SOUND BITE: "We have a lot of very good psycho-social programs in the United States that can be very helpful for people. One of the big things though that the research tells us is that motivation is a very big predictor of who is going to succeed. If you really want to get better and if you want to stop, your likelihood of that happening is is much higher."

If someone you know is having problems due to heavy alcohol drinking, talk with your primary care physician or mental health counselor for evaluation and possible treatment.