Alcohol Use Disorder is a problem that is related to an individual’s use of alcohol that leads to negative effects on the individual’s life. According to the DSM-5 (2014), the level of which the undesirable effects of the substance may affect the individual’s life is what determines whether their disorder is mild, severe, or somewhere in-between. These impairments can affect the individual’s life by impacting their physical, mental, social, or professional functioning in a negative way.
There are many symptoms and signs associated with alcohol use disorder. These symptoms include frequent intoxication, nausea, sweating, tachycardia, amnesic episodes (blackouts), mood swings, depression, anxiety, insomnia, …show more content…
It is estimated that 8.5% adults ages 18 and older and 4.6% of adolescents age 12 to 17 years old suffer from alcohol use disorder. The rates of this disorder are currently higher among adult men (12.4%) than among adult women (4. 9%).Alcohol abuse is associated with high morbidity and mortality, legal and social problems, acts of violence and accidents.
Alcohol use disorder is a genetic disease. One rather significant risk factor for developing alcohol use disorder is to have a parent that suffers from the same disorder. Even though environmental and relational influences are important, there is a genetic predisposition that underlies this disorder, predominantly in the more severe forms of the disease. Heritability of alcoholism (the genetic component of interindividual variation in vulnerability) is 40 to 60 percent (Enoch & Goldman …show more content…
Screening for alcohol consumption in general is usually lower than 50 percent in most health care settings (Grant et al. 1994). Due to fear of stigma or shame many individuals may choose to withhold certain information from both mental and medical health providers, which hinders the providers when it comes to their accurately diagnosing medical and mental health conditions. When conditions such as alcohol use disorder are missed, it can lead to other serious medical consequences, such as unforeseen surgical complications, unexplained withdrawal symptoms, complications due to drug interactions and even fetal alcohol syndrome. This missed diagnosis also prevents the individual from getting much needed treatment for their alcohol use disorder and if it continues to go untreated, it will most certainly result in