Alcohol misuse is when a person drinks levels of alcohol that can cause them physical, psychological, and social problems - both in the short-term and the long-term.
Physical problems that can be caused by alcohol misuse include:
- liver disease,
- heart disease, and
- stroke.
Psychological problems that can be caused by alcohol misuse include:
- depression,
- loss of memory, and
- impaired judgement.
Social problems that can be caused by alcohol misuse include:
- violence,
- domestic abuse, and
- losing jobs.
How common is alcohol misuse in England?
Alcohol misuse is widespread in England. 33% of men and 16 per cent of women drink alcohol at levels that are hazardous to their health.
In 2007, there were 863,000 admissions to hospital in England due to alcohol misuse and 6,541 deaths directly related to alcohol misuse. The majority of these deaths were due to alcoholic liver disease.
The actual number of deaths caused by alcohol misuse is certainly much higher as alcohol misuse is a major risk factor for a range of life-threatening diseases, as mentioned above.
Outlook
The challenges in treating somebody with alcohol misuse is two-fold:
- getting them to accept that they have a problem with alcohol, and
- persuading them to seek help for that problem.
If both of these challenges can be met, the outlook for people who misuse is actually moderately good. An estimated 60 per cent of people with an alcohol dependency who seek treatment for their condition will either achieve a substantial reduction in their alcohol consumption or achieve total abstinence.
