Some reports of alcohol consumption and its association to women's health appear, at times, to contradict one another. Is drinking good or bad for your health? What physical health problems are associated with drinking? When does drinking become harmful to your health?
National studies of alcohol have found that women are less likely than men to drink or to be heavy drinkers. But for women who do drink heavily the health costs are often greater. That's because women metabolize alcohol differently than men. For example, if a man and woman of the same height and weight drink the same amount of alcohol, the woman's blood alcohol content will be higher. This is important to remember—especially when driving a motor vehicle—women become more impaired after drinking than men. Women who drink heavily are also at risk for physical and sexual violence. And, heavy drinking has been associated with liver and brain damage, heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, and breast cancer.
Are lesbians and bisexual women more likely than heterosexual women to drink? According to research done in Chicago and elsewhere in the U.S., this appears to be true. Some of the reasons include fewer roles and responsibilities—such as parenting—that tend to limit heterosexual's women's drinking; fewer cultural norms that discourage drinking; greater reliance on bars for socialization; and stress related to societal stigma and discrimination. These factors make drinking an important lesbian health concern.
So what amount of alcohol consumption is safe? As the saying goes, everything in moderation. Although men can safely consume two alcoholic beverages per day without suffering negative health effects, women should limit their consumption to one drink per day (one drink equals one 12-ounce beer, 1.5 ounces of hard liquor, or 5 ounces of wine). Although some research suggests that drinking in moderation can benefit cardiovascular health, it is generally not recommended that nondrinkers begin drinking as a way to improve their health. How might you know if you or someone else has a drinking problem?
— Have you have ever felt that you should cut down on your drinking?
— Does it annoy you when people criticize your drinking?
— Have you have felt bad or guilty about your drinking?
— Have you had a drink first thing in the morning?
If you answered yes to at least one of these questions, you may have an alcohol problem. If you said yes to two or more of the questions you should consider talking with a healthcare provider or seeking help from an alcohol support group. Some local resources include: Howard Brown Health Center, 齅) 388-1600; Alcoholics Anonymous ྸ hours-ask for gay/lesbian meeting) at 鵸) 346-1475; and the PRIDE Institute at Riveredge Hospital in Forest Park at 1-800-547-7433.
In the Chicago Health and Life Experiences of Women (CHLEW) study, we are collecting information about lesbians' drinking and a variety of other health issues of importance to lesbians. We are now conducting the second round of interviews with 448 women who participated in the study in 2000-2001. This round of interviews will help us understand how lesbians' drinking patterns change over time and what factors influence those changes. Such information is critically important to providing educating healthcare providers (and lesbians themselves) about which groups of women may be at greatest risk for drinking-related problems.
The success of our study—and the usefulness of the information it provides—depends on finding and interviewing as many women from the first phase of the study as possible. We have lost contact with about 35 of the 450 women who were interviewed three years ago. If you or anyone you know participated in the first phase of the study please call our toll-free number 1-866-933-3459 or contact us via e-mail (chlewstudy@yahoo.com). No one can replace the original participants (we cannot add lesbians to the study who did not participate in 2000-'01), so it is critically important that we locate each of the 35 missing participants.
We very much appreciate your help and look forward to bringing you interesting and useful information about health issues of importance to our community.
