The effects of alcoholism heavily interfere with the person’s health and with working
There are several conditions that can promote alcoholism: male gender, early age of onset of alcohol consumption, family history of alcoholism, presence of other psychiatric diseases, very stressful lifestyle and low self-esteem.
Alcoholics can have numerous diseases closely related to alcohol abuse and affecting almost all organs:
- liver: steatosis (fatty liver), alcoholic hepatitis (chronic liver inflammation), alcoholic cirrhosis, relative liver failure, liver cancer;
- digestive system: gastritis (inflammation of the stomach) and gastric ulcers, esophagitis (inflammation of the esophagus) also with ulcers, pancreatitis (inflammation of the pancreas) up to chronic pancreatitis (with impaired production of digestive enzymes and hormones produced by the pancreas), cancer esophagus and stomach;
- heart: alcoholic cardiomyopathy, heart failure and arrhythmias, arterial hypertension, increased risk of stroke;
- genital system: erectile dysfunction in men and changes in the menstrual cycle in women and an increased risk of injury and breast cancer;
- eyes: nystagmus (rapid and uncontrolled movements of the eyes) and paralysis of the eye muscles;
- nervous system: peripheral neuropathy (reduced sensation and tingling of the hands and feet), memory loss, cerebellar atrophy, hallucinations, confusion, convulsions;
- immune system: reduction of immune defenses and greater susceptibility to infections;
- pregnancy: fetal-alcoholic syndrome (facial dimorphisms, growth retardation, abnormalities in the development of the central nervous system).
Some numbers
In 2012, the number of hospital diagnoses for totally alcohol-attributable diseases was 75,445 (79,655 in 2011), of which 58,410 (77.4%) referred to men and 17,035 (22.6%) referred to women.
The prevalent diagnosis is alcoholic liver cirrhosis (39.0% in 2012, versus 38.6% in 2011), immediately followed by alcohol dependence syndrome (26.6% in 2012, versus 26.9% in 2011). ).
The prevalent inpatient diagnosis for men in relation to women is alcoholic cardiomyopathy (88.9% distributed among men and 11.1% among women), immediately followed by unspecified alcohol-induced liver injury and alcoholic liver cirrhosis.
The diagnosis that most affects women in relation to men is alcohol antagonist poisoning (distributed for 33.3% among women and 66.7% among men), followed by the toxic effects of alcohol and alcohol abuse.
Between 2000 and 2012 there was a progressive percentage increase in the diagnosis of alcoholic liver cirrhosis (from 26.3% in 2000 to 39% in 2012) and at the same time a progressive percentage decrease in the diagnosis of alcohol dependence syndrome (from 31 , 8% in 2000 to 26.6% in 2012). A minor but clear percentage decrease over time is also recorded for hospital diagnoses of acute alcoholic hepatitis, unspecified alcohol-induced liver injury and alcoholic fatty liver disease.
The causes of death were divided into three categories
Totally alcohol-attributable diseases (cause of death is totally due to alcohol consumption). Within this category, 1,185 avoidable deaths among men and 377 avoidable deaths among women were calculated in 2010, respectively 0.40% and 0.12% of all deaths recorded during the year.
Totally alcohol-attributable causes of death include: alcohol-induced psychotic syndromes, alcoholic polyneuropathy, alcoholic cardiomyopathy, alcoholic gastritis, alcoholic fatty liver disease, alcohol-induced degeneration of the nervous system, alcohol-induced chronic pancreatitis, fetal alcohol syndrome, auto - intentional poisoning due to exposure to alcohol and alcoholic myopathy.