CANBERRA, June 21 (Xinhua) -- A significant number of Australian women regularly drink alcohol at very high-risk levels, research has found.
The research, which was conducted by a team from Flinders University in South Australia, found that 3.1 percent of Australian adult women -- 300,000 people -- consumed 11 or more standard drinks in one sitting, known as binge-drinking, at least once per month in 2019.
"What makes this especially concerning is that unfortunately women are more susceptible than men to experiencing severe health problems from excessive drinking, including liver issues, cardiovascular disease, cancers and mental health issues like depression and anxiety," Victoria Kostadinov, co-author of the study from the College of Medicine and Public Health, said in a media release on Thursday.
The study was the first of its kind in Australia to examine the prevalence and characteristics of women who binge drink and compare it with men who do so.
It found that women who drink alcohol at very high-risk levels are more likely to be younger, unmarried, experience high levels of psychological distress and have a mental health condition than men who drink at similar levels.
Rates of very high-risk drinking declined after the age of 24 for men compared to 44 for women.
Kostadinov said the findings support the need for tailored strategies to prevent and manage very high-risk consumption of alcohol among women.
Co-author Jacqueline Bowden, director of the National Center for Education and Training on Addiction at Flinders University, said it is important for people to know that alcohol is classified as a group 1 carcinogen and can increase a woman's risk of developing digestive, breast, and pancreatic cancer. ■
