Excessive Alcohol Use May Delay Childbearing in Women

Both teenage and adult females with alcohol dependence (AD) may experience delayed childbearing, a new study from Washington University School of Medicine suggests. The results of the new study indicate that alcohol use in women can cause reproductive dysfunctions.

The study by American researchers indicates that AD in women is associated with reproductive dysfunctions, including menstrual disorders, sexual dysfunctions, and pregnancy complications like spontaneous abortion or miscarriage.

In order to determine the link between AD and fertility complications in women, study author Mary Waldron from Washington University School of Medicine and colleagues analyzed data on two groups of Australian twins born between 1893-1964 and 1964-1971. In the first group 3,634 female and 1,880 male twins were examined, while in the second group 3,381 female and 2,748 male twins were studied.

Waldron and colleagues found alcoholic women in both groups had children later in life, but there was little or no such effect among men.

The logic behind the difference can be because women reach higher blood alcohol concentrations than men after drinking similar amounts of alcohol, the researchers said.

“Young women who drink alcohol may want to consider the longer-term consequences for later childbearing,” said Waldron. “If drinking continues or increases to levels of problem use, their ability and/or opportunity to have children may be impaired.”

The researchers conclude that alcohol use during the teenage years can lead to subsequent alcohol problems, risky sexual behaviour and a greater risk of early childbearing, while adult women’s dependence on alcohol can lead them to delayed reproduction.

“Our findings highlight a risk associated with alcohol dependence in women that is not widely recognized – a risk that has assumed increasing importance given the increased rates of alcohol misuse by women and particularly young women,” said the authors of the study that published online August 20, 2008 in journal Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research, and is due to publish in the November print issue of the same journal.

They added that the findings should be a warning to women who are already experiencing fertility problems. The researchers suggest that such women should not to use alcohol to cope with stress caused by the reproductive problems, and warned that alcohol would likely make their reproductive problems worse.

Alcohol addiction or Alcoholism, also known as "alcohol dependence" is a chronic and often progressive disease that includes alcohol craving and continued drinking despite repeated alcohol-related problems, such as losing a job or getting into trouble with the law as well as the pain and suffering of the individuals and their families.

In addition to the health issues including heart disease, cancerdefine, prancreatitis and liver disease, traffic accidents are the other factors related to the alcohol abuse.

As per the estimates of National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, nearly 13,000 people died in crashes due to the drunk drivers in 2005.