For several years alcohol addiction research has revealed the fact that there is strong correlation between alcohol addiction and dangerous health conditions and mental health issues such as depression.
As an illustration, in 2005, medical research and alcohol abuse and alcoholism statistics showed that alcohol abuse and alcohol dependency cost the United States an estimated $220 billion annually. It can be emphasized that this massive alcohol-related cost was substantially more than the cost linked with cancer ($196 billion) or with obesity ($133 billion). While it is important to give emphasis to these facts, it is also important to point out that an interrelationship exists between all three of these health issues.
To be more precise, chronic alcohol abuse and alcohol addiction are also highly associated with obesity and with cancer.
Indeed, substance abuse exploration has shown that alcoholism can increase the risk for different types of cancer, especially cancer of the colon, voice box (larynx), liver, rectum, throat, kidneys, and the esophagus. Heavy and recurring drinking can also lead to immune system difficulties and impairment to the fetus during pregnancy.
Excessive and Heavy Drinking Weakens the Person’s Systems and Organs
Additionally, if alcohol dependency continues over a period of years, the person’s body organs will likely be affected in an unhealthy manner. As an illustration, chronic, abusive drinking is particularly hurtful to the liver due to the fact that the liver does most of the work of processing the alcohol that has been consumed. Excessive amounts of alcohol kills liver cells and destroys the ability of liver cells to redevelop. This medical circumstance results in a progressive inflammatory injury to the liver that can at the end of the day lead to cirrhosis of the liver, a dangerous and possibly lethal disease.Abusive, long-term drinking not only can result in acute liver damage, but it can also result in damage to the heart and to the brain. Physical damage this serious may be irreparable and may, in turn, result in serious disease or premature death.
The Relevance of Alcohol Rehabilitation
It is imperative, then, to know how to identify the different alcoholism symptoms and the “alcohol signs” so that the alcohol dependent person can be given the opportunity to get the professional alcohol therapy he or she needs.
Alcoholism and Technologically Advanced Brain Research
Fortunately, scientific exploration is relentlessly uncovering unique and important information. Recent alcoholism research offers a first-rate example. More to the point, for roughly the last ten years, sophisticated brain-imaging scanning devices have shown that repetitive and long-term hazardous drinking changes the constitution of the brain to a great extent, thusly resulting in brain disease that can last months, years, or possibly as long as the individual exists.
More correctly, medical research has demonstrated that individuals who have been drinking in a hazardous manner for a considerable length of time increase their risk for developing long lasting and significant changes 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.
Mental Disorders, Malnutrition, and Hazardous Drinking
As a final illustration of different medical problems that are to a large extent associated with alcohol dependency, consider that in accordance with medical examination, the hazardous and repeated abuse of alcohol can lead to erosive gastritis, a medical condition that diminishes the absorption of nutrients, vitamins, and minerals.
This form of organ malfunctioning is related to malnutrition and to an assortment of severe mental and neurological disorders including sleep disturbances, memory loss, and psychosis such as Wernicke’s Encephalopathy and Korsakoff’s syndrome. This latter health problem is a lasting debilitating health problem that is epitomized by repetitive learning and memory complications.
Summary
It is clear that repetitive, excessive drinking is directly or indirectly related to many acute medical conditions that can and do lead to serious ailments and premature death. Such information needs to be highlighted and presented to everyone in our society so that a large number of people will be able to abstain from irresponsible drinking while other individuals who have a drinking problem will get the quality treatment they require.