Author: James Anderson

Alcohol use disorder Diagnosis and treatment

The harmful use of alcohol causes a high burden of disease and has significant social and economic consequences. According to the 2017 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), 51% of the population aged 12 and older reported binge drinking in the past month. Alcohol use disorder (AUD)  is a chronic, relapsing disease that is diagnosed based on an individual meeting certain criteria outlined by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5).

Fatal alcohol-related injuries tend to occur in relatively younger age groups. There are various short- and long-term health issues that can result from alcohol use disorder. According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse & Alcoholism (NIAAA), women who have no more than 3 drinks on a given day and no more than 7 per week are at low-risk for developing AUD. In the United States, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) is the most common diagnostic guide for substance use disorders, whereas most countries use the International Classification of Diseases (ICD) for diagnostic (and other) purposes. The two manuals use similar but not identical nomenclature to classify alcohol problems. Alcohol is a psychoactive substance with dependence-producing properties that has been widely used in many cultures for centuries.

Long-term misuse

Because such use is usually considered to be compulsive and under markedly diminished voluntary control, alcoholism is considered by a majority of, but not all, clinicians as an addiction and a disease. Many people with AUD do recover, but setbacks are common among people in treatment. Behavioral therapies can help people develop skills to avoid and overcome triggers, such as stress, that might lead to drinking.

1. For serious alcohol use disorder, you may need a stay at a residential treatment facility.
2. If you drink more alcohol than that, consider cutting back or quitting.
3. Once you’re well enough to leave, you’ll need to continue to receive treatment on an outpatient basis.
4. Unhealthy alcohol use includes any alcohol use that puts your health or safety at risk or causes other alcohol-related problems.
5. In some people, the initial reaction may feel like an increase in energy.
6. The National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence and AlcoholScreening.org offer more comprehensive self-tests.

Because denial is common, you may feel like you don’t have a problem with drinking. You might not recognize how much you drink or how many problems in your life are related to alcohol use. Listen to relatives, friends or co-workers when they ask you to examine your drinking habits or to seek help. Consider talking with someone who has had a problem with drinking but has stopped. Alcohol use disorder can include periods of being drunk (alcohol intoxication) and symptoms of withdrawal.

A third definition, behavioral in nature, defines alcoholism as a disorder in which alcohol assumes marked salience in the individual’s life and in which the individual experiences a loss of control over its desired use. In this definition, alcoholism may or may not involve physiological dependence, but invariably it is characterized by alcohol consumption that is sufficiently great to cause regret and repeated physical, mental, social, economic, or legal difficulties. Clinicians call such a behavioral disorder a disease because it persists for years, is strongly hereditary, and is a major cause of death and disability. In addition, alcohol permanently alters the brain’s plasticity with regard to free choice over beginning or stopping drinking episodes.

What Are the Symptoms of Alcohol Use Disorder?

Individual factors include age, gender, family circumstances and socio-economic status. Although there is no single risk factor that is dominant, the more vulnerabilities a person has, the more likely the person is to develop alcohol-related problems as a result of alcohol consumption. Poorer individuals experience greater health and social harms from alcohol consumption than more affluent individuals. An informed minority opinion, especially among sociologists, believes that the medicalization of alcoholism is an error. Unlike most disease symptoms, the loss of control over drinking does not hold true at all times or in all situations. The alcoholic is not always under internal pressure to drink and can sometimes resist the impulse to drink or can drink in a controlled way.

You should also consider attending a local AA meeting or participating in a self-help program such as Women for Sobriety. You may need to seek treatment at an inpatient facility if your addiction to alcohol is severe. These facilities will provide you with 24-hour care as you withdraw from alcohol and recover from your addiction. Once you’re well enough to leave, you’ll need to continue to receive treatment on an outpatient basis. In some people, the initial reaction may feel like an increase in energy. But as you continue to drink, you become drowsy and have less control over your actions.

WHO emphasizes the development, implementation and evaluation of cost-effective interventions for harmful use of alcohol as well as creating, compiling and disseminating scientific information on alcohol use and dependence, and related health and social consequences. A variety of factors which affect the levels and patterns of alcohol consumption and the magnitude of alcohol-related problems in populations have been identified at individual and societal levels. A health care provider might ask the following questions to assess a person’s symptoms. Some people may drink alcohol to the point that it causes problems, but they’re not physically dependent on alcohol. Alcoholism, referred to as alcohol use disorder, occurs when someone drinks so much that their body eventually becomes dependent on or addicted to alcohol. Treatment for alcohol use disorder can vary, depending on your needs.

As with other medical diseases but unlike most bad habits, prospective studies demonstrate that willpower per se is of little predictive significance. A BAC of 0.09% to 0.25% causes lethargy, sedation, balance problems and blurred vision. A BAC of 0.18% to 0.30% causes profound confusion, impaired speech (e.g. slurred speech), staggering, dizziness and vomiting. A BAC from 0.25% to 0.40% causes stupor, unconsciousness, anterograde amnesia, vomiting (death may occur due to inhalation of vomit while unconscious) and respiratory depression (potentially life-threatening). A BAC from 0.35% to 0.80% causes a coma (unconsciousness), life-threatening respiratory depression and possibly fatal alcohol poisoning. With all alcoholic beverages, drinking while driving, operating an aircraft or heavy machinery increases the risk of an accident; many countries have penalties for drunk driving.

Alcohol consumption by an expectant mother may cause fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) and pre-term birth complications. To learn more about alcohol treatment options and search for quality care near you, please visit the NIAAA Alcohol Treatment Navigator. The National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence and AlcoholScreening.org offer more comprehensive self-tests. Just because someone may appear to be “sleeping it off,” they can still be in danger of serious harm from alcohol poisoning. Call 911 immediately if you suspect someone may be in danger of an alcohol overdose.

Alcohol use disorder

Theories suggest that for certain people drinking has a different and stronger impact that can lead to alcohol use disorder. Many people with alcohol use disorder hesitate to get treatment because they don’t recognize that they have a problem. An intervention from loved ones can help some people recognize and accept that they need professional help. If you’re concerned about someone who drinks too much, ask a professional experienced in alcohol treatment for advice on how to approach that person.

Factors affecting alcohol consumption and alcohol-related harm

For example, periodic intoxication can cause sickness necessitating days of absence from work. In a modern industrial community, this makes alcoholism similar to a disease. In a rural Andean society, however, the periodic drunkenness that occurs at appointed communal fiestas and results in sickness and suspension of work for several days is normal behaviour. It should be noted that this drunkenness at fiestas is a choice and does not produce regret.