For more than a few years alcohol dependency research has demonstrated the fact that there is strong correlation between alcoholism and life-threatening health conditions.

For example, in 2005, medical examination revealed that alcohol abuse and alcoholism cost the United States an estimated $220 billion annually. Interestingly, this gigantic alcohol-related expense was substantially more than the cost linked with cancer ($196 billion) or with obesity ($133 billion). While it is relevant to stress these facts, it is also important to point to the fact that an interrelationship exists between all three of these health issues.

To be exact, chronic alcohol abuse and alcoholism are also highly correlated with obesity and with cancer.

Indeed, substance abuse exploration has shown that alcohol dependency can amplify the risk for various forms of cancer, especially cancer of the voice box (larynx), esophagus, liver, rectum, colon, kidneys, and throat. Abusive and recurring drinking can also lead to immune system issues and impairment to the fetus during pregnancy.

Hazardous and Heavy Drinking Destabilizes the Problem Drinker’s Organs and Systems

Furthermore, if alcoholism continues over a period of years, the individual’s body organs will likely be affected in an unhealthy manner. For example, repeated, excessive drinking is particularly hurtful to the liver since the liver does most of the work of processing the alcohol that has been ingested. Extreme amounts of alcohol kills liver cells and eradicates the ability of liver cells to redevelop. This medical condition results in a progressive inflammatory disease of the liver that can ultimately lead to cirrhosis of the liver, an acute and potentially lethal disease.

Excessive, long-term drinking not only can result in serious liver damage, but it can also lead to damage to the heart and to the brain. Physical damage this severe may be irrepairable and may, in turn, result in serious llness or an early death.

The Critical Nature of Alcohol Treatment

It is vital, therefore, to know how to recognize the different alcohol dependency symptoms and signs so that the alcohol addicted person can be given the opportunity to get the professional alcohol rehabilitation he or she needs.

Alcoholism and Sophisticated Brain Research

Fortuitously, scientific exploration is persistently uncovering unique and important information. Recent alcoholism research supplies an excellent example. More exactly, for roughly the last ten years, technologically advanced brain-imaging scanning devices have confirmed that continuous and recurring hazardous drinking alters the configuration of the brain to a substantial extent, therefore resulting in brain disease that can last months, years, or perhaps as long as the individual lives.

More accurately, medical examination has revealed that individuals who have been drinking in an irresponsible manner for an extensive length of time increase their risk for developing long lasting and serious adaptations in the brain.

This type of damage may be indirectly associated with the drinker’s poor overall health or directly related to severe liver disease or to the alcohol’s effects on the brain.

Malnutrition, Hazardous Drinking, and Mental Disorders

As a final example of assorted medical problems that are significantly associated with alcoholism, take into consideration the fact that in accordance with medical research, the excessive and repeated abuse of alcohol can lead to erosive gastritis, a condition that decreases the absorption of vitamins, minerals, and nutrients.

This kind of organ malfunctioning is correlated with malnutrition and to an array of acute mental and neurological problems including sleep disturbances, memory loss, and psychosis such as Wernicke’s Encephalopathy and Korsakoff’s syndrome. This latter medical problem is a long-term incapacitating condition that is epitomized by continual memory and learning problems.

Conclusion

It is clear that continued, hazardous drinking is directly or indirectly related to a variety of acute medical problems that can and do result in serious illness and premature death. Such information needs to be underlined and presented to everyone in our society so that a large number of individuals will be able to abstain from abusive drinking while others who have a drinking problem will get the quality therapy they require.