Why women are more prone to serious complications from drinking alcohol

為什么在喝酒后女性比男性更容易感到不舒服


While it’s no surprise that heavy drinking comes with health consequences, women in particular are more prone to serious complications from alcohol — including an increased risk of alcohol-related death, according to a new study.

我們都知道在過度飲酒后，我們的健康會受到影響。根據(jù)一項新研究得出的結論：女性尤其更容易在喝酒后感到不舒服，甚至在嚴重的情況下會導致死亡。

The study, published in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, looked at the death certificates of Americans 16 and older from 1999 to 2017. The researchers found that not only were there nearly 1 million alcohol-related deaths in that time period, but that the number of alcohol-related deaths per year of people 16 and older doubled (from 35,914 to 72,558 deaths per year).

這份研究被發(fā)表在《酒精中毒的臨床與實驗研究》這本雜志上。研究是通過查閱從1999年到2017年的美國16歲以上的人的死亡證明書來進行的。研究人員不僅發(fā)現(xiàn)在這段歷史時期中因為喝酒而死亡的人的人數(shù)達到了將近100萬，而且發(fā)現(xiàn)每年由于喝酒而死亡的16歲以上的人的人數(shù)到最后翻了一倍。（從1999年的35914人到2017年的72558人。）
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Women in particular are being affected: The researchers found that the largest annual increase of alcohol-related deaths occurred among non-Hispanic white women.

女性尤其容易受到酒精的影響：研究人員發(fā)現(xiàn)那些每年人數(shù)增長的飲酒致死的人當中，母語非西班牙語的白人女性占了大部分。

That’s even more alarming considering the number of women who are drinking alcohol and abusing alcohol is on the rise, according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA).
“Historically, the most protective factor for women was that it was less normative for women to drink a lot,” Keith Humphreys, PhD, a professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences studying alcohol consumption at Stanford University and who was not involved in the study, tells Yahoo Lifestyle. “That was changed largely by alcohol companies. Enormous amounts of women were targeted in advertising and it worked — and now women drink much more and now they’re dying much more.”

“在歷史上，女性由于其身體自身的自我保護機制使得其比較不勝酒量?！眲P什.哈姆弗雷斯博士是斯坦福大學的一名研究飲酒問題的精神病學和行為科學教授，他沒有參與這項研究，他接受雅虎的采訪時說：“飲酒帶來的問題由于酒業(yè)公司的發(fā)展而變得日益嚴重。許多女性在看酒廣告的時候被成功洗腦了?，F(xiàn)在的女性當中喝酒的人數(shù)比從前更多了，因為飲酒而去世的女性的人數(shù)也變得比從前更多?！?/b>

The health consequences of drinking

喝酒對健康的影響

Even though men are not only more likely to drink alcohol but also more of it, alcohol hits women harder. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says that “gender differences in body structure and chemistry cause women to absorb more alcohol, and take longer to break it down and remove [metabolize] it from their bodies,” adding, “These differences also make it more likely that drinking will cause long-term health problems in women than men.”

盡管男性不僅更喜歡喝酒并且會喝更多的酒，但是酒精對女性的健康造成的影響比對男性的造成的影響更大。疾病預防控制中心表示：“在人體結構上的性別差異以及男女體內化學物質的不同使得女性容易吸收更多的酒精，醉酒的時間會比男性長，將酒精排出體外所需的時間也比男性的長。這些差異也會讓女性比男性更容易因為飲酒而患上長期存在的健康問題?！?/b>

Excessive alcohol use can lead to several health issues over time — and women are particularly affected. “The risk of cirrhosis and other alcohol-related liver diseases is higher for women than for men,” according to the CDC. Drinking too much alcohol can also affect the brain, causing shrinkage and memory loss. According to the CDC, “research suggests that women are more vulnerable than men to the brain damaging effects of excessive alcohol use, and the damage tends to appear with shorter periods of excessive drinking for women than for men.”

過度飲酒會導致各種健康問題，女性更容易因為酒精而導致健康狀況受損。疾病預防控制中心表示：“女性因為飲酒而患上肝硬化以及其它因為飲酒而導致的肝病的風險比男性高?！边^度飲酒還會損害人的大腦功能，引發(fā)腦萎縮和記憶力衰退。該中心還表示：“研究顯示女性比男性更容易因為過度飲酒而損害自身的大腦功能。這些損害通常發(fā)生在短時期內過度飲酒的情況下，女性的大腦比男性的更容易在這種情況下受到損害?！?/b>

Heavy drinking also impacts heart health. The CDC states that studies show women who drink excessively have a higher risk of damaging the heart muscle than men, “even for women drinking at lower levels.”

酗酒也會對心臟的健康造成負面影響。疾病預防控制中心方面稱：研究顯示酗酒的女性的心臟肌肉比酗酒的男性的心臟肌肉更容易受到損害。就算女性喝得相對少一些，女性的心肌也比男性的要脆弱得多。

Why alcohol affects women more than men

為什么酒精對女性造成的影響比對男性造成的影響要更大呢？

Humphreys explains that, while the precise physiology is not well understood, one of the reasons why alcohol has a more profound effect on women is because, on average, they weigh less than men. According to the NIAAA: “Alcohol resides predominantly in body water, and pound for pound, women have less water in their bodies than men. This means that after a woman and a man of the same weight drink the same amount of alcohol, the woman’s blood alcohol concentration… will tend to be higher, putting her at greater risk for harm.”

哈姆弗雷斯解釋說：現(xiàn)在還無法給出生理學上的準確解釋，或許其中一個原因在于女性的體重比男性的輕。根據(jù)酗酒和酒中毒研究中心的說法，酒精主要被人體中所含的水分均等吸收，而女性身體的含水量比男性身體的含水量要少。這就意味著體重相同的一名女性和一名男性如果各自喝下等量的酒，女性血液中的酒精濃度通常會比男性血液中的酒精濃度要高，所以女性比男性更容易因為喝酒而身體健康受損。

But it’s not just about size. Research shows that women also have fewer alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) enzymes, which help the body metabolize alcohol.

但影響因素不僅僅只有男女身體結構的差異。研究顯示女性身體中的醇脫氫酶比男性的要少。這種醇脫氫酶能夠幫助人體代謝掉酒精。

The health consequences of drinking also develop more rapidly in women than in men. Humphreys says it’s called “telescoping” — “a term used to describe an accelerated progression from the initiation of substance use to the onset of dependence and first admission to treatment,” according to one study. “You’ll commonly see a woman who hasn’t been [drinking alcohol] as long as men and the physical punishment comes faster,” says Humphreys.

飲酒對健康造成的影響從影響產生的速度上看，女性健康受到的影響比男性健康受到的影響要來得更快一些。哈姆弗雷斯說：“這種現(xiàn)象叫做‘套疊效應’。這個術語是用來形容一個人從一開始服用某種物質到因為快速上癮而開始依賴這種物質并首次入院接受治療的現(xiàn)象?！?/b>

As Harvard University’s Celeste Robb-Nicholson, MD, puts it: “At every age, women are quicker to become alcohol-dependent and suffer the consequences.”

哈佛大學的醫(yī)學博士塞萊斯特.羅伯尼科爾森說：“不管在哪個年齡段，女性會比男性更快對酒精上癮，并且會比男性更快因為飲酒而出現(xiàn)健康問題。”

The U.S. Dietary Guidelines for Americans has recommendations aimed at reducing the risk of alcohol-related health issues, noting that if alcohol is consumed, it should be done in moderation: up to 1 drink per day for women and 2 drinks per day for men of legal drinking age.

美國政府的《美國人膳食指南》中提出了一些旨在減少因為飲酒而對健康造成危害的風險的建議，指南中說：“如果一個人要喝酒，他或她就應該適度飲酒。到了合法飲酒年齡的女性每天最多只能喝一杯酒，而到了合法飲酒年齡的男性每天最多只能喝兩杯酒。”

“Next time you go to a bar or a liquor store, keep the risks of alcohol in mind,” noted the National Center for Health Research. “All women — regardless of size — need to remember that less alcohol could affect you more severely than it would a man.”

國家衛(wèi)生研究中心指出：“下一次當你去一個酒吧或者一個酒類商店的時候，請你一定要記住飲酒的危害。所有的女性，不管你們的身材如何，你們需要記住的是：即便你們喝的酒比男性少，但飲酒對你們的身體造成的危害比對男性們的身體所造成的損害更嚴重?！?br />