Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol that results in significant mental or physical health problems.[14] Alcoholism is not a recognized diagnostic entity. Predominant diagnostic classifications are alcohol use disorder[2] (DSM-5)[4] or alcohol dependence (ICD-11).[15]
Excessive alcohol use can damage all organ systems, but it particularly affects the brain, heart, liver, pancreas and immune system.[4][5] Alcoholism can result in mental illness, delirium tremens, Wernicke–Korsakoff syndrome, irregular heartbeat, an impaired immune response, liver cirrhosis and increased cancer risk.[4][5][16] Drinking during pregnancy can result in fetal alcohol spectrum disorders.[3] Women are generally more sensitive than men to the harmful effects of alcohol, primarily due to their smaller body weight, lower capacity to metabolize alcohol, and higher proportion of body fat.[11] In a small number of individuals, prolonged, severe alcohol misuse ultimately leads to frank dementia.
Environmental factors and genetics are two factors affecting risk for alcoholism, with about half the risk attributed to each.[4] Someone with a parent or sibling with alcoholism is three to four times more likely to become an alcoholic themselves, but only a minority of them do.[4] Environmental factors include social, cultural and behavioral influences.[17] High stress levels and anxiety, as well as alcohol’s inexpensive cost and easy accessibility, increase the risk.[4][7] People may continue to drink partly to prevent or improve symptoms of withdrawal.[4] After a person stops drinking alcohol, they may experience a low level of withdrawal lasting for months.[4] Medically, alcoholism is considered both a physical and mental illness.[18][19] Questionnaires are usually used to detect possible alcoholism.[4][20] Further information is then collected to confirm the diagnosis.[4]
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