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Enoch Gordis, MD; Mary C. Dufour, MD, MPH; Kenneth R. Warren, PhD
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism Bethesda, Md

Richard J. Jackson, MD, MPH; R. Louise Floyd, DSN, RN; Dan W. Hungerford, DrPh
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Atlanta, Ga

JAMA. 1995;273(18):1415.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text PDF and any section headings.

To the Editor.

—We agree with the recent Editorial by Dr Pearson and Mr Terry¹ that certain patients, such as pregnant women, should abstain entirely from alcohol. However, we wish to comment on their suggestion that physicians might advise other population subgroups to initiate moderate alcohol consumption.

Epidemiological findings indicate that although women are less likely to drink, drink less heavily, and develop fewer alcohol-related problems than men, they develop alcohol dependence more rapidly.² Women metabolize alcohol less efficiently than men, probably because of reduced first-pass metabolism. Together with less ethanol dilution attributable to lower body water content, this metabolic difference increases bioavailability of alcohol and may enhance sensitivity to alcohol-induced physiological impairment. There also seems to be a greater risk for liver cirrhosis for women than men at comparable consumption levels; and women contract pancreatic disease after shorter periods of consumption and liver disease at lower consumption . . . [Full Text PDF of this Article]

Footnotes
Edited by Drummond Rennie, MD, Deputy Editor (West), and Margaret A. Winker, MD, Senior Editor.

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