Alcohol consumption is linked to breast cancer development in a dose-dependent manner. In a recent American Cancer Society study in postmenopausal women, it was shown that one drink a day increased the risk of dying of breast cancer up to 30%, compared to non-drinkers. Alcohol consumption has also been linked to increased risk of gastrointestinal cancers (mouth, larynx, pharynx, esophagus, and liver), and head and neck cancers. Women who drink <2 drinks/ week are considered to be at low risk of developing alcohol-related diseases. Consuming >7 drinks/ week places a woman at higher risk of developing alcohol-related diseases. Men who drink drinks/ week are considered to be at low risk of developing alcohol-related complications, while those who drink >14 drinks/ week are considered high risk. Additionally, the relative risk of alcohol consumption for the development of breast cancer is greater than the relative risk of obesity in the development of breast cancer.
One unit of alcohol is equal to 10 mL of pure ethanol. The 'strength' of an alcoholic drink is determined by the 'alcohol by volume' (ABV).
Examples of one unit of alcohol:
To calculate the number of units in a drink multiply the number of millilitres by the ABV and divide by 1,000. For example:
Diagnosis test for Alcoholism/ problem drinking
Carbohydrate Deficient Transferrin (CDT) - it may be falsely elevated in some other liver diseases
Correlate with GGT, ALT and AST
However, it is less sensitive than phosphatidylethanol (PEth) in detecting current regular alcohol consumption.
For acute drinking
The ethanol conjugates ethyl glucuronide and ethyl sulfate remain positive for up to three days after ethanol consumption and are quite useful for detection of occult/denied alcoholism. Both these substances are detectable clinically through urine drug testing by commercial toxicology labs.
The most characteristic feature of alcoholic hallucinosis is auditory hallucinations.
Alcohol withdrawal