--- title: "Psych News Alert: Alcoholism May Be Especially Dangerous for Women" description: Alcoholism is deadly, and a new study shows that it may be more so for women. In fact, alcoholism may be twice as fatal for women as for men... image: https://alert.psychnews.org/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/shutterstock_85030033-Jun-24-2025-04-37-56-7383-PM.jpg --- 10/18/12 12:00 AM # Alcoholism May Be Especially Dangerous for Women ![Picture of Psychiatric News Alert](https://alert.psychnews.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Psych%20News%20Email%20Banners/PN-Blue-Box_rgb.png?width=50&name=PN-Blue-Box_rgb.png) [ Psychiatric News Alert ](https://alert.psychnews.org/author/psychiatric-news-alert) Share: [facebook-f icon ](http://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=https://alert.psychnews.org/2012/10/alcoholism-may-be-especially-dangerous.html) [linkedin-in icon ](http://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https://alert.psychnews.org/2012/10/alcoholism-may-be-especially-dangerous.html) [Twitter icon ](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https://alert.psychnews.org/2012/10/alcoholism-may-be-especially-dangerous.html) [pinterest-p icon ](http://pinterest.com/pin/create/link/?url=https://alert.psychnews.org/2012/10/alcoholism-may-be-especially-dangerous.html) [envelope icon ](mailto:?body=https://alert.psychnews.org/2012/10/alcoholism-may-be-especially-dangerous.html) | [![](https://alert.psychnews.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/shutterstock_85030033-Jun-24-2025-04-37-57-6332-PM.jpg?width=200&height=133&name=shutterstock_85030033-Jun-24-2025-04-37-57-6332-PM.jpg)](https://alert.psychnews.org/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/shutterstock_85030033-Jun-24-2025-04-37-57-6332-PM.jpg) | | | --- | --- | Alcoholism is deadly, and a new study shows that it may be more so for women. In fact, alcoholism may be twice as fatal for women as for men, according to an online report October 16 in *Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research*. Researchers drew a random sample of the general population in one region of Germany, out of which they identified 153 alcohol-dependent individuals. For 149 of them, vital status information was provided 14 years later.  The researchers found that annualized death rates were 4.6-fold higher for women and 1.9-fold higher for men, compared with the age- and sex-matched general population of the region. Moreover, for both men and women, alcoholism appeared to contribute more to early death than other prominent factors, including smoking. Other findings were that having participated in inpatient alcohol dependence treatment was not related to longer survival and that poor self-rated health predicted mortality. An abstract of the study is posted [here](http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1530-0277.2012.01863.x/abstract). To read about a potential biomarker for alcohol dependence, see *Psychiatric News* [here](http://psychnews.psychiatryonline.org/newsarticle.aspx?articleid=180842). For a review of options for treating alcohol disorders, see *[Clinical Manual for Treatment of Alcoholism and Addictions](http://www.appi.org/SearchCenter/Pages/SearchDetail.aspx?ItemId=62373)* from American Psychiatric Publishing. (Image: Kzenon/shutterstock.com) [premature death](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/premature-death), [alcoholism](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/alcoholism), [alcohol dependence](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/alcohol-dependence) ## Related posts [![](https://alert.psychnews.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/man%20with%20bottle%20of%20booze_9651433-Jun-24-2025-06-23-04-2819-PM.jpg?height=200&name=man%20with%20bottle%20of%20booze_9651433-Jun-24-2025-06-23-04-2819-PM.jpg) ](https://alert.psychnews.org/2012/05/chinese-herb-may-counter-alcoholism.html) [alcoholism](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/alcoholism), [gabapentin](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/gabapentin) ## [Chinese Herb May Counter Alcoholism](https://alert.psychnews.org/2012/05/chinese-herb-may-counter-alcoholism.html) ![Picture of Psychiatric News Alert](https://alert.psychnews.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Psych%20News%20Email%20Banners/PN-Blue-Box_rgb.png?width=50&name=PN-Blue-Box_rgb.png) [Psychiatric News Alert](https://alert.psychnews.org/author/psychiatric-news-alert) 5/22/12 12:00 AM [ Read more ](https://alert.psychnews.org/2012/05/chinese-herb-may-counter-alcoholism.html) [![](https://alert.psychnews.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/shutterstock_16504168-Jun-24-2025-04-45-50-2686-PM.gif?height=200&name=shutterstock_16504168-Jun-24-2025-04-45-50-2686-PM.gif) ](https://alert.psychnews.org/2011/08/gender-can-influence-alcoholism.html) [genes](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/genes), [alcoholism](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/alcoholism), [environment](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/environment) ## [Gender Can Influence Alcoholism Susceptibility](https://alert.psychnews.org/2011/08/gender-can-influence-alcoholism.html) ![Picture of Psychiatric News Alert](https://alert.psychnews.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Psych%20News%20Email%20Banners/PN-Blue-Box_rgb.png?width=50&name=PN-Blue-Box_rgb.png) [Psychiatric News Alert](https://alert.psychnews.org/author/psychiatric-news-alert) 8/22/11 12:00 AM [ Read more ](https://alert.psychnews.org/2011/08/gender-can-influence-alcoholism.html) [![](https://alert.psychnews.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/shutterstock_93662965-4.jpg?height=200&name=shutterstock_93662965-4.jpg) ](https://alert.psychnews.org/2014/06/study-identifies-decreased-dopamine.html) [ajp in advance](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/ajp-in-advance), [dopamine](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/dopamine), [alcoholism](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/alcoholism) ## [Study Identifies Decreased Dopamine Transmission in Cortex of Patients With Alcoholism](https://alert.psychnews.org/2014/06/study-identifies-decreased-dopamine.html) ![Picture of Psychiatric News Alert](https://alert.psychnews.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Psych%20News%20Email%20Banners/PN-Blue-Box_rgb.png?width=50&name=PN-Blue-Box_rgb.png) [Psychiatric News Alert](https://alert.psychnews.org/author/psychiatric-news-alert) 6/3/14 12:00 AM Individuals with alcoholism appear to have decreased transmission of dopamine in the brain's cortex... 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