HEALTH : Alcohol Effect on Women Cited

Women are more vulnerable than men to the effects of alcohol because lower levels of an alcohol-burning chemical in the stomach allows more alcohol to enter a woman’s liver and bloodstream, a study released today said.

The new finding may help explain why women more readily develop liver disease after drinking smaller amounts of alcohol over a shorter period of time than men, said Dr. Charles Lieber of Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York, one of the authors of the new study.

Lieber said women need roughly one-third less alcohol than men to achieve the same effect. If the results are confirmed, Lieber said sex-related differences in alcohol metabolism should be considered when defining what levels of alcohol are safe for men and women while driving.

The study is published in the current issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.