For several years alcoholism research has demonstrated the fact that there is strong correlation between alcoholism and serious health conditions.
As an illustration, in 2005, medical investigation and alcohol abuse and alcoholism statistics revealed that alcohol abuse and alcohol addiction cost the United States an estimated $220 billion on an annual basis. It can be emphasized that this huge alcohol-related cash outlay was substantially more than the cost linked with cancer ($196 billion) or with obesity ($133 billion). While it is pertinent to put emphasis on these facts, it is also important to emphasize the point that an interrelationship exists between all three of these health problems.
More explicitly, chronic alcohol abuse and alcohol addiction are also highly associated with obesity and with cancer.
Definitely, substance abuse research has revealed that alcoholism can augment the risk for different kinds of cancer, especially cancer of the colon, voice box (larynx), liver, rectum, throat, kidneys, and the esophagus. Excessive and recurring drinking can also result in immune system problems and abnormality to the fetus during pregnancy.
Excessive and Irresponsible Drinking Destabilizes the Individual’s Organs and Systems
Furthermore, if alcoholism continues over a period of years, the individual’s body organs will more likely than not be affected in a negative manner. As an illustration, chronic, excessive drinking is especially harmful 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 eradicates the ability of liver cells to redevelop. This medical circumstance results in a progressive inflammatory disease of the liver that can in the end lead to cirrhosis of the liver, an acute and possibly terminal disease.Abusive, long-term drinking not only can lead to dangerous liver damage, but it can also lead to damage to the heart and to the brain. Physical damage this serious may be irreversible and may, in turn, lead to serious ill health or an untimely death.
The Relevance of Alcohol Rehab
It is vital, then, to know how to recognize the various alcoholism symptoms and the “alcohol signs” so that the alcohol addicted individual can be given the opportunity to seek the professional alcohol rehab he or she requires.
Alcoholism and Sophisticated Brain Research
Fortuitously, scientific investigation is continuously finding novel and important information. Recent alcoholism exploration provides an excellent illustration. More specifically, for roughly the last ten years, complicated brain-imaging scanning instruments have confirmed that repetitive and recurring irresponsible drinking alters the functionality of the brain to a significant extent, as a consequence resulting in brain disease that can last months, years, or conceivably as long as the individual lives.
Stated differently, medical investigation has shown that individuals who have been drinking in an irresponsible manner for a considerable length of time increase their risk for developing long lasting and severe transformations in the brain.
This type of damage may be directly related to the alcohol’s effects on the brain, to severe liver disease, or might be indirectly associated with the drinker’s poor overall health.
Malnutrition, Hazardous Drinking, and Mental Disorders
As a final illustration of assorted medical conditions that are to a large extent associated with alcohol dependency, take into consideration the fact that according to medical investigation, the hazardous and repeated abuse of alcohol can result in erosive gastritis, a medical problem that decreases the absorption of vitamins, minerals, and nutrients.
This kind of organ breakdown is correlated with malnutrition and to an array of critical mental and neurological syndromes including sleep disturbances, memory loss, and psychosis such as Wernicke’s Encephalopathy and Korsakoff’s syndrome. This latter medical condition is a lasting incapacitating health problem that is typified by persistent learning and memory difficulties.
Conclusion
It is obvious that continued, hazardous drinking is directly or indirectly linked to a variety of critical medical conditions that can and do result in dangerous ailments and premature death. Such information needs to be emphasized and presented to everyone in our society so that a multitude of people will be able to abstain from excessive drinking while others who have a drinking problem will get the quality therapy they need.
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