Women Less Sensitive, More Vulnerable to AlcoholJanuary 4, 2006
Research Summary
Women are less sensitive to the effects of alcohol than men, but also more vulnerable to alcohol's negative health effects, according to researchers who say the findings debunk some common myths about female drinking.UPI reported Jan. 4 that Duke University researchers also said that women's sensitivity to alcohol varies according to their menstrual cycle.
"People generally think that alcohol is more potent in females, but that is because women are smaller than men and it generally takes fewer drinks for them to become impaired," said study author Scott Swartzwelder. "Our study shows that when you control for that, and just look at the potency of alcohol on the brain mechanisms that cause sedation, females actually appear to be less sensitive to alcohol."
The research appears in the January 2006 issue of Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research.
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