Women at higher risk of dying due to booze than men

Researchers have suggested that females had an increased rate of all-cause mortality conferred by drinking compared with males, especially in heavy drinkers.

In the article "Effect of Drinking on All-Cause Mortality in Women Compared with Men: A Meta-Analysis," Chao Wang and coauthors, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical Sciences (Beijing, China), modeled the relationship between the dose of alcohol consumed and the risk of death, comparing the results for drinkers versus non-drinkers and among male and female drinkers.

The study that compared the amount of alcohol consumed and death from all causes among nearly 2.5 million women and men showed that the differences between the sexes became greater as alcohol intake increased.

Susan G. Kornstein, MD, Editor-in-Chief of Journal of Women's Health, Executive Director of the Virginia Commonwealth University Institute for Women's Health, Richmond, VA, and President of the Academy of Women's Health, said while alcoholism is more common in men than women, female drinkers face greater risks to their health compared with male drinkers.

The study has been published in the Journal of Women's Health.