Alcohol puts women at greater injury risk than men

Women are at far greater risk of being injured after drinking alcohol compared to men, new research has revealed.

New study suggests women are more likely to be injured after drinking alcohol than men

In a study of emergency department admissions in 18 different countries, data showed that violence was a contributing factor in twice as many alcohol-related injuries such as traffic accidents, falls or other causes.

As concluded by the Alcohol Research Group in California, up to the point of consumption of three standard drinks – considered to be any amount containing 14g of pure alcohol – men and women were approximately 4.5 times more likely to be injured compared to when they were sober.

However, alcohol consumption exceeding three standard drinks then saw women’s injury risks rise much faster to the point where they were triple that of men.

Information on 13,119 injured men and women aged 18 or over was collected from patients who had been admitted to 37 different emergency departments having drunk up to 30 drinks in the six hours leading up to their admissions.

Researchers concluded injuries were a bigger threat in countries where regular moderate drinking, with meals for example, was less common, thus resulting in binge-drinking.

“Even small amounts of drinking put one at risk for injury,” said lead researcher Cheryl Cherpitel. “People in different countries can actually consume the same amount of alcohol but the pattern of drinking really makes a big difference.

“Certainly there are probably a lot of women who have not been drinking who are the victim of a violent episode because of who they were with.”

In January, another report accused doctors of failing patients by not asking about their drinking habits.

More recently, a study was released citing that the majority of adults who regularly drink excessive amounts of alcohol are not alcoholics or alcohol dependent.