Introduction
Alcohol use disorders refer to excessive drinking behaviors that can create dangerous conditions for an individual and others. Alcohol use disorders are generally categorized as:
Alcohol Abuse. Alcohol abuse is a pattern of drinking that results in adverse outcomes such as:
- Failure to fulfill work or personal obligations
- Recurrent use of alcohol in potentially dangerous situations
- Problems with the law
- Continued use in spite of harm being done to social or personal relationships
Alcohol use can lead to alcohol dependence (alcoholism).
Alcohol Dependence (Alcoholism). Alcohol dependence is the medical term for alcoholism. Alcohol dependence is characterized by:
- Increased amounts of alcohol are needed to produce an effect (tolerance)
- Withdrawal symptoms (nausea, sweating, irritability, tremors, hallucinations, and seizures) develop when drinking is stopped or reduced
- Constant craving for alcohol and inability to limit drinking
- Continuing to drink in spite of the knowledge of its physical or psychological harm to oneself or others
Levels of Drinking
A person is affected by the amount of alcohol consumed, not the type. Beer and wine are not “safer” than hard liquor; they simply contain less alcohol per ounce.
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Review Date: 01/13/2011
Reviewed By: Harvey Simon, MD, Editor-in-Chief, Associate Professor of Medicine,
Harvard Medical School; Physician, Massachusetts General Hospital.
Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M.,
Inc.
A.D.A.M., Inc. is accredited by URAC, also known as the American Accreditation HealthCare Commission (www.urac.org)
