​Health Impact 

• Liver disease¹
  Women are more likely to develop cirrhosis or liver abnormalities secondary to alcohol than men¹
• Cardiac disease²
• Cardiac tissue in women is more sensitive to the effects of alcohol so cardiomyopathy can develop in women with less alcohol intake than men³
• Changes in menstruation and fertility²
• Alcohol use is associated with an increased risk of miscarriage⁴
• Alcohol intake may be related to ovulatory dysfunction⁵
• Increased risk of breast cancer²
• Increased social issues (i.e. loss of income, child neglect/abuse, domestic violence
• Increased risk of sexual assault²
• Increased mortality related to alcohol is the third leading cause of preventable death of women in the U.S.² 
• Alcohol use in women is associated with a 50-100 times higher mortality than in men⁶

1. Maryland PRAMS: Focus on Alcohol Use and Binge Drinking
2. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. (2011). ACOG committee opinion 496: At-Risk Drinking and Alcohol Dependence: Obstetric and Gynecologic Implications. Washington, DC: American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.
3. Urbano-Marquez A. et al (1995). The greater risk of alcoholic cardiomyopathy and myopathy in women compared with men. JAMA 274. 149-54.
4. Alwan, S. et al” Teratology Primer-2nd edition (7/9/2010)” (2010).  Department of Pediatrics Faculty Papers. Paper 31
5. Grodstein, F. et al (1994). Infertility in women and moderate alcohol use. American Journal of Public Health 84. 1429-1432.
6. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. (2008). ACOG committee opinion 422: At-Risk Drinking and Illicit Drug Use: Ethical Issues in Obstetric and Gynecologic Practice.  Washington, DC: American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.